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.

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
Sherry Tourmaline

Sherry Tourmaline

A warm sherry-brown to orange-brown tourmaline, usually magnesium-rich dravite, named for its rich fortified-wine color.

gemstone

Elephant Skin Jasper

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

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
Chocolate Garnet

Chocolate Garnet

A rich brown variety of andradite (or grossular-andradite) garnet, marketed for its warm chocolate color and notable brilliance.

gemstone
Cognac Tourmaline

Cognac Tourmaline

A warm cognac-brown to reddish-brown tourmaline, typically magnesium-rich dravite, prized for its rich whisky-like color.

gemstone
Chocolate Opal

Chocolate Opal

Precious opal with a warm chocolate-brown body tone that makes its rainbow play-of-color glow, mainly from Ethiopia and Mexico.

gemstone
Dravite

Dravite

The magnesium-rich brown member of the tourmaline group, named for Austria's Drava River and prized for warm earthy tones.

mineral
Mahogany Obsidian

Mahogany Obsidian

A natural volcanic glass with rich brown and black mahogany-like swirls created by iron oxide inclusions.

igneous
Honey Garnet

Honey Garnet

A warm golden-brown garnet named for its honey color, typically a hessonite grossular variety with a distinctive treacly internal texture.

gemstone
Lignite

Lignite

The lowest rank of coal, a soft brown carbon-rich rock formed from compacted peat, used mainly for electricity generation.

sedimentary
Champagne Tourmaline

Champagne Tourmaline

A soft brown to golden-brown tourmaline with warm, neutral tones reminiscent of sparkling champagne.

gemstone
Champagne Garnet

Champagne Garnet

A soft brownish-golden garnet named for its champagne color, usually a malaia-type pyrope-spessartine blend prized for warm, neutral tones.

gemstone
Pietersite

Pietersite

A brecciated, chatoyant quartz with swirling blue, gold, and brown fibers that shimmer like a stormy sky.

gemstone
Limonite

Limonite

Limonite is an amorphous brown iron oxide ore, the rust-colored material behind ochre pigments and bog iron.

mineral
Brecciated Jasper

Brecciated Jasper

A jasper made of angular fragments naturally cemented back together, typically showing red and brown pieces in a quartz matrix.

sedimentary
Uvite

Uvite

A calcium-magnesium tourmaline that forms in metamorphosed limestones, typically dark green to brown and often in well-formed crystals.

mineral

Sardonyx

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

gemstone
Goethite

Goethite

Goethite is a common brown iron oxyhydroxide, the main crystalline component of limonite and rust, with shimmering botryoidal forms.

mineral
Menilite Opal

Menilite Opal

An opaque grey-brown common opal forming nodules and concretions, historically called liver opal for its dull brownish color.

mineral
Pyromorphite

Pyromorphite

A lead phosphate secondary mineral known for barrel-shaped green to yellow crystals formed in oxidized lead deposits.

mineral
Orange Tourmaline

Orange Tourmaline

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

gemstone
Honey Calcite

Honey Calcite

A warm golden-to-amber variety of calcite, a soft calcium carbonate mineral valued for its honeyed glow and easy carving.

mineral
Mushroom Tourmaline

Mushroom Tourmaline

A rare mushroom-shaped tourmaline growth habit, typically magnesium-rich dravite/uvite, prized by collectors for its fungus-like cap-and-stem form.

mineral