Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

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

Soapstone

A soft, talc-rich metamorphic rock with a soapy feel, easily carved and highly heat-resistant for cookware and sculpture.

Hardened, fine-grained mudrock intermediate between shale and slate, dense and non-fissile, often carved into ornaments.

A group of green magnesium silicate minerals with a smooth, waxy feel, often carved and sometimes sold as imitation jade.

A banded chalcedony combining reddish-brown sard with white or black onyx layers, prized since antiquity for carved cameos.

An opaque, porcelain-white common opal prized for its milky, pearl-like appearance and high porosity, often carved or beaded.