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.

Felsite

Felsite

A general term for light-colored, fine-grained volcanic rocks rich in quartz and feldspar, like rhyolite.

igneous
Elephant Skin Jasper

Elephant Skin Jasper

A gray-brown jasper whose mottled, wrinkled patterning resembles elephant hide, also sold as Miriam or calligraphy stone.

mineral
Cobra Jasper

Cobra Jasper

A banded jasper with cream, tan, and brown layers resembling snakeskin, often sourced from Madagascar.

mineral
Bruneau Jasper

Bruneau Jasper

A prized Idaho picture jasper from Bruneau Canyon known for brown and cream orbicular egg-rock patterns and scenic landscapes.

mineral
Butterstone Jasper

Butterstone Jasper

A soft-toned cream-to-butterscotch jasper colored by iron oxides, prized by lapidaries for its smooth, even, opaque finish.

gemstone
Calc-schist

Calc-schist

A foliated metamorphic rock of calcite mixed with mica, quartz, and calc-silicate minerals, derived from marly sediments.

metamorphic
Blue Jasper

Blue Jasper

An opaque blue variety of chalcedony jasper, less common than red or green forms, colored by mineral inclusions.

mineral
Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is a rose-pink manganese carbonate prized for raspberry-red crystals and banded pink-and-white gem material.

gemstone
Zebra Agate

Zebra Agate

A banded chalcedony agate with bold alternating dark and light stripes resembling zebra markings, sometimes color-enhanced.

gemstone
Teepee Canyon Agate

Teepee Canyon Agate

A fortification agate from the Black Hills of South Dakota, known for tight, colorful banding closely related to the famous Fairburn agate.

gemstone
Shadow Agate

Shadow Agate

A banded agate that displays a moving shadow or flash across its surface when tilted under light, caused by closely spaced parallel bands.

gemstone
Polyhedroid Agate

Polyhedroid Agate

A rare agate that forms naturally with flat polygonal faces and angular geometric shapes rather than the usual rounded nodule.

gemstone
Pigeon Blood Agate

Pigeon Blood Agate

A richly colored red banded agate prized by lapidaries for its deep crimson-to-brown tones reminiscent of pigeon's blood.

gemstone
Honey Agate

Honey Agate

A warm golden to amber translucent chalcedony agate whose color and glow resemble honey, sometimes with banding.

gemstone
Frost Agate

Frost Agate

A pale chalcedony agate with cloudy, frost-like white patterning suggesting frost on a window or icy crystalline textures.

gemstone
Flame Agate

Flame Agate

A chalcedony agate with red, orange, and yellow plume or banding patterns that rise like dancing flames within the stone.

gemstone
Feather Agate

Feather Agate

A translucent chalcedony agate containing delicate, feather- or plume-shaped mineral inclusions that branch like soft feathers.

gemstone
Coldwater Agate

Coldwater Agate

A glacially transported agate found in Midwestern gravels, named for the Coldwater area, showing banded chalcedony patterns.

gemstone
Cloud Agate

Cloud Agate

A chalcedony agate with soft, billowing cloud-like masses of gray and white suspended in a translucent body.

gemstone
Cathedral Agate

Cathedral Agate

A banded agate whose internal structures resemble cathedral spires, arches, or a city skyline of towers and pinnacles.

gemstone
Rhyolite

Rhyolite

A fine-grained, silica-rich volcanic rock that is the extrusive equivalent of granite, often pale, banded, or flow-textured.

igneous
Feldspar

Feldspar

The most abundant mineral group in Earth's crust, feldspars are aluminosilicates that form much of granite and many igneous rocks.

mineral
Septarian Concretion

Septarian Concretion

A rounded sedimentary nodule cracked internally and filled with veins of yellow calcite, prized for its striking dragon-skin patterning.

sedimentary
Howlite

Howlite

A white, porous borate mineral webbed with gray-black veins, widely dyed to imitate turquoise and other stones.

mineral