Habit: Colorless to white. Crystals nearly equant, commonly slightly elongated and deeply striated, with irregular form development, wedge-shaped at times or rounded because of repetition of faces; also as cleavable masses or massive. Vitreous luster, satiny on fibrous cleavages; transparent. White streak.
Environment: An important ore mineral of borax, found in sedimentary borate deposits deposited under warm conditions or formed by metamorphism.
Etymology: Named for one of the localities where it is found, Kern County, California.