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.

A metamorphosed banded iron formation of alternating quartz and iron-oxide layers, mined as a major iron ore.

A green, gold-associated metamorphic rock made of chrome-rich mica and quartz, named for Mariposa County in California's gold country.

A pegmatitic granite in which quartz and feldspar intergrow to resemble ancient runic or Hebrew script.