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.

Eltyubyuite

Eltyubyuite

A rare chlorine-bearing iron garnet-supergroup mineral, the ferric analogue of wadalite, formed in high-temperature combustion-metamorphic rocks.

mineral
Almandine Garnet

Almandine Garnet

The most common garnet, an iron aluminum silicate in deep red to brownish-red hues, used as a gem and an industrial abrasive.

gemstone
Foitite

Foitite

A rare alkali-deficient tourmaline whose X crystal site is largely vacant, giving slender dark blue to bluish-black crystals.

mineral
Chalcopyrite

Chalcopyrite

A brassy copper-iron sulfide that is the world's most important copper ore, often showing colorful iridescent tarnish.

mineral
Calderite

Calderite

A manganese-iron garnet that forms in metamorphosed manganese deposits, intermediate in composition between spessartine and andradite.

mineral
Buergerite

Buergerite

A rare iron-rich (ferric) species of the tourmaline group, dark brown to bronze-black, named after crystallographer Martin Buerger.

mineral
Bornite

Bornite

A copper iron sulfide famous for its vivid iridescent purple-blue tarnish, the classic peacock ore and a copper ore.

mineral
Topazolite Garnet

Topazolite Garnet

A rare yellow to golden variety of andradite garnet, the topaz-colored cousin of green demantoid, prized for high dispersion and brilliance.

gemstone
Red Jasper

Red Jasper

An opaque, iron-rich variety of microcrystalline quartz known for its deep brick-red color and ancient history as a stone of strength and grounding.

gemstone
Tangerine Quartz

Tangerine Quartz

Clear quartz coated with orange-red hematite, giving points a vivid tangerine color, mainly from Brazil.

crystal
Brown Jasper

Brown Jasper

An opaque earth-toned jasper colored brown by iron oxides, ranging from pale tan to deep chocolate.

mineral
Green Beryl

Green Beryl

Light green beryl colored mainly by iron, distinguished from emerald, which owes its deeper green to chromium or vanadium.

gemstone
Golden Healer Quartz

Golden Healer Quartz

Quartz colored or coated by golden iron oxides such as limonite or goethite, giving a warm sunlit yellow glow.

crystal
Blue Beryl

Blue Beryl

The blue color variety of beryl, ranging from pale sky tones to rich sea-blue, best known in its finest grades as aquamarine.

gemstone
Red Sandstone

Red Sandstone

Iron-stained sandstone whose red color comes from hematite coatings, formed in oxidizing desert, river, and coastal environments.

sedimentary
Yowah Nut Opal

Yowah Nut Opal

Small ironstone concretions from Yowah, Queensland, whose hollow or veined centers hold brilliant precious boulder opal.

gemstone
Owyhee Jasper

Owyhee Jasper

A picture jasper from the Owyhee region of Oregon and Idaho, prized for scenic tan, cream, and blue-grey landscape patterns.

mineral
Outback Jasper

Outback Jasper

An earthy Australian-style jasper in red, ochre, and yellow tones evoking the colors of the Outback desert.

mineral
Maligano Jasper

Maligano Jasper

A rare Indonesian jasper from Sulawesi known for ghostly tube structures, brecciated patterns, and contrasting grey, red, and purple zones.

mineral
Autumn Jasper

Autumn Jasper

A warm-toned jasper named for its autumn-leaf palette of browns, rust, gold, and cream, popular as soothing earth-tone beads.

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
Starry Night Jasper

Starry Night Jasper

A dark jasper trade stone speckled with pale flecks resembling a starry night sky, valued for its cosmic appearance.

mineral
Royal Sahara Jasper

Royal Sahara Jasper

A warm desert-toned picture jasper trade stone with sandy tan, gold, and brown swirls evoking Saharan dunes.

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