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Clear Atacamite

#16aba4
Notes

Clear Atacamite (#16ABA4) is a true cyan with a jewel character. It carries the deep, saturated richness of a gemstone. Authoritative and slightly formal, it works well for type and heavy UI elements. Its HSL profile (177°, 77%, 38%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary red. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#16aba4
RGB
rgb(22, 171, 164)
HSL
hsl(177, 77%, 38%)
HWB
hwb(177 9% 33%)
OKLCH
oklch(67.0% 0.113 189.5)
P3
color(display-p3 0.3112 0.6607 0.6403)
HSV
hsv(177, 87%, 67%)
LAB
lab(63.32% -36.82 -6.66)
LCH
lch(63.32% 37.42 190.25)
CMYK
cmyk(87%, 0%, 4%, 33%)

Etymology

Clear
adjective

From the Latin clarus, bright, distinct — used as a color modifier since the medieval period for hues without haze or mixing. Clear blue sky, clear green water: the implication is moderate saturation combined with optical clarity. Sits at the crisp-bucket center alongside clean and true.

Atacamite
noun

A copper-chloride mineral named for the Atacama Desert of Chile where it was first described. Atacamite forms in arid copper-mineral deposits worldwide. The color refers to a clean atacamite crystal: a saturated, slightly cool deep emerald-green with the satin finish of crystallized secondary copper mineral.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

Click any swatch to explore

Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#16aba4
Original
#a0a1a4
Protanopia
#8e93a5
Deuteranopia
#00b0a9
Tritanopia
#8b8b8b
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
Failon White
2.84:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
7.40:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##16ABA4
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.3112 0.6607 0.6403)
P3 has subtle headroomOKLCH chroma 0.113

Moderately saturated colors gain a small bump in P3 — the difference is usually visible side-by-side on wide-gamut hardware but won't change the character of the color.

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