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.

Rubicline

Rubicline

An extremely rare rubidium-dominant alkali feldspar, the rubidium analogue of microcline, found in rare-element granitic pegmatites.

mineral
Imperial Garnet

Imperial Garnet

A trade name for high-brilliance golden grossular-andradite (grandite) garnet, most associated with the Mali deposits of West Africa.

gemstone
Mali Garnet

Mali Garnet

A rare grossular-andradite blend ('grandite') from Mali, prized for its high brilliance and golden-green to yellow color.

gemstone
Metaquartzite

Metaquartzite

A hard, tough metamorphic rock of fused quartz grains, formed by recrystallizing quartz sandstone under heat and pressure.

metamorphic
Khondalite

Khondalite

A high-grade metamorphic gneiss of garnet, sillimanite, quartz, and graphite, derived from ancient aluminous sediments.

metamorphic
Bohemian Garnet

Bohemian Garnet

Small, intensely red chrome-pyrope garnets from the Czech Bohemian region, famous for densely set antique Victorian jewelry.

gemstone
Brazilian Agate

Brazilian Agate

Abundant banded chalcedony from southern Brazil, the world's main source of agate slices and dyed agate products.

gemstone
Metasandstone

Metasandstone

Sandstone altered by metamorphism, with partly recrystallized quartz grains, transitional between true sandstone and quartzite.

metamorphic
Quartzite Sandstone

Quartzite Sandstone

A tough, quartz-rich sandstone cemented by silica, transitional toward true quartzite but still sedimentary in origin.

sedimentary
Transvaal Jade

Transvaal Jade

A massive green-to-pink hydrogrossular garnet from South Africa used as a jade simulant, not a true jade.

gemstone

Map Jasper

A patterned jasper whose outlined cells and contrasting borders resemble the boundaries and regions of a printed map.

mineral

Kiwi Jasper

A speckled green-and-black stone resembling kiwi fruit, technically a quartz-amazonite aggregate rather than true jasper.

mineral

Rainbow Moonstone

A near-colorless feldspar showing blue and multicolored sheen; gemologically a white labradorite rather than true orthoclase moonstone.

gemstone

Picasso Jasper

A marbled, abstractly patterned stone resembling modern art, technically a metamorphosed limestone rather than a true silica jasper.

metamorphic

Dragon Blood Jasper

A green-and-red ornamental stone of epidote and red piemontite or iron oxide, named for its dragon-skin coloring; not a true jasper.

metamorphic
Bumblebee Jasper

Bumblebee Jasper

A vivid yellow-and-black banded stone from Indonesian volcanic vents, colored by sulfur, arsenic minerals and iron oxides, not true jasper.

sedimentary
Molybdenite

Molybdenite

Molybdenite is the primary ore of molybdenum, a soft, greasy, silver-gray sulfide that closely resembles graphite.

mineral

Hells Canyon Jasper

A warm earth-toned jasper from the Hells Canyon region of the Oregon-Idaho border, prized for brecciated browns, reds, and creams.

gemstone

Graveyard Point Agate

A celebrated plume agate from the Oregon-Idaho border, known for dramatic black, gold, and red plumes in clear chalcedony.

gemstone
Perlite

Perlite

A hydrated volcanic glass with pearly, onion-like concentric cracks that pops into lightweight white granules when heated.

igneous