ETYM Greek als salt.
Native salt; sodium chloride.
Mineral sodium chloride, NaCl, or common salt. When pure it is colorless and transparent, but it is often pink, red, or yellow. It is soft and has a low density.
Halite occurs naturally in evaporite deposits that have precipitated on evaporation of bodies of salt water. As rock salt, it forms beds within a sedimentary sequence; it can also migrate upward through surrounding rocks to form salt domes. It crystallizes in the cubic system.