Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.
Cherry Obsidian
A vivid cherry-red glass sold as obsidian; the bright transparent red color is manufactured, as natural obsidian only shows dull red-brown mahogany tones.
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Clear Obsidian
An unusually pure, transparent-to-translucent obsidian with few inclusions; truly water-clear specimens are rare in nature.
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Pumpkin Obsidian
An orange-to-rust colored variety of natural volcanic glass whose warm tone comes from iron oxide staining within the obsidian.
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Snowflake Obsidian
A black volcanic glass speckled with gray-white cristobalite snowflakes, formed as obsidian begins to crystallize.
igneous
Brown Obsidian
Obsidian colored brown by iron oxide inclusions, frequently banded or swirled with black as in mahogany obsidian.
igneousVelvet Obsidian
A black volcanic glass with a soft, velvety internal sheen caused by aligned microscopic inclusions catching the light.
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Mahogany Obsidian
A natural volcanic glass with rich brown and black mahogany-like swirls created by iron oxide inclusions.
igneousLeopard Obsidian
Black volcanic glass marked with rounded spots and patches that resemble a leopard's coat, caused by spherulitic crystallization.
igneousSmoky Obsidian
Translucent smoky-gray obsidian that transmits a hazy light, intermediate between clear and fully black volcanic glass.
igneousPeanut Obsidian
Black volcanic glass studded with oval, peanut-shaped grey-white spherulites of radiating crystals frozen in the glass.
igneousFlame Obsidian
Black volcanic glass that flashes flame-like bands of iridescent color when light strikes aligned nanoscale inclusions.
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Devitrified Obsidian
Obsidian that has partly crystallized over time, growing pale spherulite clusters within the black glass, as in snowflake obsidian.
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Red Obsidian
Volcanic glass tinted red by fine iron-oxide inclusions, often blended with black to form mahogany-patterned obsidian.
crystalLace Obsidian
Black volcanic glass laced with delicate web-like veins of contrasting color, formed by flow banding and fine crystallization.
igneousLilac Obsidian
A soft pale-purple glass sold as obsidian; uniform lilac material is essentially always manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic obsidian.
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Gray Obsidian
Obsidian in gray tones, often semi-translucent, colored by light scattering and minor inclusions within the volcanic glass.
igneousStripe Obsidian
Obsidian crossed by parallel flow bands of differing color, formed as layers of lava with slightly different compositions froze into glass.
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Yellow Obsidian
Yellow to golden volcanic glass; natural examples owe their color to iron, though much bright yellow obsidian on the market is manufactured glass.
igneousCrimson Obsidian
A deep red glass sold as obsidian; vivid uniform crimson material is usually manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic obsidian.
igneousCloudy Obsidian
Obsidian with a hazy, cloud-like translucency caused by uneven distribution of tiny bubbles or incipient crystallites in the glass.
igneousBlue Obsidian
Blue-colored volcanic glass; genuine natural blue obsidian is very rare, while much blue obsidian on the market is manufactured glass.
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Porphyritic Obsidian
Natural volcanic glass speckled with embedded mineral crystals (phenocrysts) such as feldspar or cristobalite that grew before the lava chilled.
igneousTangerine Obsidian
A vivid orange glass sold as obsidian; uniformly bright tangerine material is typically manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic obsidian.
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Purple Obsidian
Purple-colored volcanic glass; genuine natural purple obsidian is rare, with much purple obsidian being manufactured colored glass.
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