RocksdayEpidote vs Olivine
How to tell them apart
A pistachio-green metamorphic mineral. Mixed with pink feldspar it forms the popular stone 'unakite'.
Photo: Gleb Korovko, CC BY 4.0
Olive-green silicate that makes up most of Earth's upper mantle. Gem-quality olivine is called peridot.
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick tests
- Streak (rub on unglazed porcelain): Epidote leaves a gray to white streak; Olivine leaves white.
Key differences
- Olivine is a brighter bottle green, glassy and grainy.
- Epidote is darker pistachio green and grows in striated prisms with one cleavage.
Side by side
| Property | Epidote | Olivine |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Mineral | Mineral |
| Mohs hardness | 6–7 | 6.5–7 |
| Luster | Vitreous | Vitreous |
| Streak | Gray to white | White |
| Colors | Green, Black | Green, Yellow |
| Crystal system | Monoclinic | Orthorhombic |
| Specific gravity | 3.3–3.6 | 3.2–4.4 |
| Formula | Ca₂(Al₂Fe)(SiO₄)(Si₂O₇)O(OH) | (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄ |
| Found in | Prince of Wales Island, Alaska; Knappenwand, Austria | Papakōlea, Hawaii; San Carlos, Arizona |
Properties that are the same for both are grayed out.
How to identify epidote
- Distinctive pistachio to dark green.
- Striated prisms.
- Hardness 6–7.
- Commonly fills cracks in altered rocks.
Crystal system: Monoclinic
Full Epidote guide →How to identify olivine
- Bottle- to olive-green glassy grains.
- Often as sugary green clumps in black basalt.
- No cleavage — breaks like glass.
- Hard enough to scratch glass.
Crystal system: Orthorhombic
Full Olivine guide →More comparisons
Could you tell them apart from a blurry close-up?
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