Rock Identifier

Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Blue Beryl

Blue Beryl

The blue color variety of beryl, ranging from pale sky tones to rich sea-blue, best known in its finest grades as aquamarine.

gemstone
Madagascar Jasper

Madagascar Jasper

A broad family of vividly patterned jaspers from Madagascar, including orbicular and scenic varieties prized for colorful, eye-catching designs.

gemstone
Euxenite

Euxenite

A black rare-earth niobium-tantalum oxide, often radioactive and metamict, mined for yttrium, niobium, and associated rare elements.

mineral
Merelani Mint Garnet

Merelani Mint Garnet

A delicate vanadium-colored mint-green grossular garnet from the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, the source of tanzanite.

gemstone
Orange Opal

Orange Opal

A vivid orange opal, classically Mexican fire opal, prized for its bright, fiery body color that glows when backlit.

gemstone
Columbite

Columbite

A black iron-manganese niobate that is a primary ore of niobium, forming a continuous series with tantalite (together called coltan).

mineral
Orange Tourmaline

Orange Tourmaline

A warm orange to tangerine tourmaline, an uncommon hue produced by manganese and iron in the crystal.

gemstone
Asphalt Rock

Asphalt Rock

A porous sedimentary rock naturally saturated with bitumen, dark, tarry-smelling, and historically mined for paving.

sedimentary
Ruby in Zoisite

Ruby in Zoisite

A striking rock of green zoisite studded with red-pink ruby crystals and black hornblende, also called anyolite.

metamorphic
Chrome Tourmaline

Chrome Tourmaline

An intensely green tourmaline colored by chromium and vanadium, prized for its vivid emerald-like color from East Africa.

gemstone
Mahenge Garnet

Mahenge Garnet

Mahenge Garnet is a pyrope-spessartine gem from Tanzania's Mahenge region, prized for vivid pink, purple, and color-change tones.

gemstone
Orange Obsidian

Orange Obsidian

Obsidian colored orange by iron oxide inclusions; vivid uniform orange material is frequently manufactured glass rather than volcanic.

igneous
Montana Moss Agate

Montana Moss Agate

A translucent chalcedony from Montana filled with black and red dendritic inclusions that look like moss, ferns, or scenic landscapes.

gemstone
Masasi Blue Garnet

Masasi Blue Garnet

Masasi Blue Garnet is a rare vanadium-bearing color-change garnet from Tanzania that appears blue-green by day and purplish-red indoors.

gemstone
Lotus Garnet

Lotus Garnet

A delicate pinkish-purple to peach garnet from Tanzania, a pyrope-spessartine blend named for the soft colors of a lotus flower.

gemstone
Lindi Garnet

Lindi Garnet

Lindi Garnet is a rare vanadium-rich color-change garnet from Tanzania's Lindi region, shifting from blue-green daylight tones to purple-red.

gemstone
Umbalite Garnet

Umbalite Garnet

A delicate pink to lavender garnet from Tanzania's Umba Valley, a pyrope-spessartine blend often marketed as a soft, light-toned rhodolite.

gemstone
Mint Garnet

Mint Garnet

A delicate pastel-green grossular garnet, lighter than tsavorite, most famously from the Merelani Hills of Tanzania.

gemstone
Kerimasite

Kerimasite

A zirconium-rich garnet related to kimzeyite, formed in carbonatites and skarns, named after the Kerimasi volcano in Tanzania.

mineral
Rosterite

Rosterite

An old varietal name for alkali- and cesium-rich beryl, typically colorless to pale pink, overlapping with vorobyevite and morganite.

gemstone
Grossular Garnet

Grossular Garnet

The calcium-aluminum garnet species spanning green tsavorite, cinnamon hessonite, and colorless leuco garnet — one of the most varied garnets.

gemstone