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.

Gold Sheen Obsidian

Gold Sheen Obsidian

A black obsidian displaying a golden metallic sheen caused by light reflecting off aligned microscopic gas bubbles or mineral inclusions.

igneous
Ruby in Zoisite

Ruby in Zoisite

A striking rock of green zoisite studded with red-pink ruby crystals and black hornblende, also called anyolite.

metamorphic
Jaspillite

Jaspillite

A banded, metamorphosed iron formation in which bright red jasper alternates with silvery hematite or magnetite layers.

metamorphic
Spherulitic Obsidian

Spherulitic Obsidian

Obsidian containing spherulites — small radiating spheres of feldspar and cristobalite that crystallized within the cooling volcanic glass.

igneous
Dendritic Opal

Dendritic Opal

A common opal with branching, tree-like mineral inclusions that create natural fern, moss, or landscape patterns.

gemstone
Star Moonstone

Star Moonstone

A rare moonstone that shows a four-rayed star of light (asterism) across its domed surface along with adularescence.

gemstone
Dalmatian Stone

Dalmatian Stone

A cream-colored feldspar-and-quartz rock peppered with dark spots, named for its resemblance to a Dalmatian dog.

igneous
Bloodstone Jasper

Bloodstone Jasper

A dark green jasper-chalcedony speckled with red iron-oxide spots, classically known as bloodstone or heliotrope.

mineral
Tourmalinated Quartz

Tourmalinated Quartz

Clear or milky quartz threaded with black needles of tourmaline (schorl), combining quartz clarity with dramatic dark inclusions.

crystal
Landscape Opal

Landscape Opal

A common opal containing dendritic or mossy mineral inclusions that form miniature landscape-like scenes inside the stone.

gemstone
Prehnite

Prehnite

A translucent yellow-green silicate famous for its botryoidal 'grape' clusters, often hosting needle-like sprays of black epidote.

mineral
Feather Jasper

Feather Jasper

A jasper marked with soft feather- or plume-like mineral inclusions that drift through a pale silica body.

mineral
Regency Rose Agate

Regency Rose Agate

A prized plume agate with rose-pink and red feathery inclusions suspended in clear chalcedony, from the western U.S.

gemstone
Clear Obsidian

Clear Obsidian

An unusually pure, transparent-to-translucent obsidian with few inclusions; truly water-clear specimens are rare in nature.

igneous
Carver Agate

Carver Agate

A collectible Oregon plume and scenic agate with feathery red and gold inclusions suspended in translucent chalcedony.

gemstone
Brown Obsidian

Brown Obsidian

Obsidian colored brown by iron oxide inclusions, frequently banded or swirled with black as in mahogany obsidian.

igneous
Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Cat's Eye Pink Tourmaline

Pink tourmaline cut en cabochon to reveal a moving band of light, a phenomenal gem colored by manganese with parallel inclusions.

gemstone
Mahogany Obsidian

Mahogany Obsidian

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

igneous
Amphibolite

Amphibolite

A dark, dense metamorphic rock dominated by hornblende and plagioclase, formed by medium- to high-grade metamorphism of basalt.

metamorphic
Porphyritic Obsidian

Porphyritic Obsidian

Natural volcanic glass speckled with embedded mineral crystals (phenocrysts) such as feldspar or cristobalite that grew before the lava chilled.

igneous
Velvet Obsidian

Velvet Obsidian

A black volcanic glass with a soft, velvety internal sheen caused by aligned microscopic inclusions catching the light.

igneous
Scenic Agate

Scenic Agate

A translucent agate whose mineral inclusions resemble miniature landscapes of trees, hills, and horizons within the stone.

gemstone
Red Obsidian

Red Obsidian

Volcanic glass tinted red by fine iron-oxide inclusions, often blended with black to form mahogany-patterned obsidian.

crystal
Andesite

Andesite

A fine-grained, intermediate volcanic rock common at subduction-zone volcanoes, between basalt and rhyolite in composition.

igneous