Mineral · Native elements
Sulfur
S
Native sulfur forms bright yellow, transparent bipyramidal crystals in Sicily's historic mines (Agrigento, Cianciana), Bolivia's El Desierto and around volcanic fumaroles. Sicilian sulfur on aragonite and celestine is a classic. It is extremely heat-sensitive: the warmth of a hand cracks large crystals, so lift by the matrix, and it smells faintly of rotten eggs.
| Formula | S |
|---|---|
| IMA status | grandfathered |
| Crystal system | Orthorhombic |
| Mohs hardness | 1.5–2.5 |
| Group | Native elements |
| Type locality | None (known since antiquity) |
| Streak | White to yellow |
| Specific gravity | 2.07 |
| Reference list | IMA List of Minerals (RRUFF) — verify formula and status against the current list |
Handling and safety
Do not handle crystals directly; never store near heat.
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Sulfur" (Mineral). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/minerals/sulfur. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-sulfur,
title = {Sulfur},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/minerals/sulfur}},
year = {2026},
note = {Mineral article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.