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.

Amazonite

Amazonite

The blue-green gem variety of microcline feldspar, often mottled with white, prized as an affordable ornamental stone.

mineral
White Beryl

White Beryl

The colorless to milky-white variety of beryl, known mineralogically as goshenite and once used to imitate diamond and other gems.

gemstone
Clear Beryl

Clear Beryl

Transparent, colorless beryl (goshenite), the pure form of the species valued for its clarity, hardness, and well-formed crystals.

gemstone
Greenschist

Greenschist

A green, foliated low-grade metamorphic rock colored by chlorite, actinolite, and epidote, marking the greenschist metamorphic facies.

metamorphic

Watermelon Obsidian

A pink-and-green bicolor glass sold as obsidian; the watermelon coloring is manufactured and does not occur in natural volcanic glass.

igneous
Garnierite

Garnierite

A vivid green hydrous nickel-magnesium silicate that is a major ore of nickel, mined from weathered ultramafic rocks.

mineral
Greenstone

Greenstone

A general field term for green, low-grade metamorphosed basaltic rocks colored by chlorite, epidote, and actinolite.

metamorphic

Teal Obsidian

A deep teal glass sold as obsidian; the saturated blue-green color is manufactured and not found in natural volcanic glass.

igneous
Moldavite

Moldavite

A rare forest-green natural glass formed by a meteorite impact about 15 million years ago, found mainly in the Czech Republic.

gemstone
Peridot

Peridot

The gem-quality green variety of olivine, peridot is colored by iron and is one of the few gems found in only one color.

gemstone

Cat's Eye Morganite

Pink beryl (morganite) that shows chatoyancy, a moving band of light, when cut as a cabochon, thanks to parallel tube inclusions.

gemstone
Star Aquamarine

Star Aquamarine

A rare blue beryl that shows asterism, a moving star of light from intersecting sets of parallel inclusions, when cut as a cabochon.

gemstone
Kyanite

Kyanite

A bladed aluminosilicate famous for having two very different hardnesses depending on the direction you scratch it.

mineral
Willemite

Willemite

A zinc silicate famous for its brilliant green fluorescence under shortwave UV light, especially from Franklin, New Jersey.

mineral
Epidosite

Epidosite

A hard, pistachio-green rock composed mainly of epidote and quartz, formed by hydrothermal alteration of mafic rocks.

metamorphic

Trapiche Aquamarine

A rare blue beryl showing a fixed six-spoke wheel pattern caused by impurity inclusions arranged along the crystal's growth axis.

gemstone
Pink Emerald

Pink Emerald

A trade name sometimes used for pink beryl (morganite), the manganese-colored rose-to-peach variety of the emerald mineral.

gemstone

Dallasite Jasper

A green-and-white volcanic breccia from Vancouver Island, cemented by jasper and rich in epidote, popular as a regional lapidary stone.

gemstone
Prehnite

Prehnite

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

mineral
Indicolite

Indicolite

The blue variety of tourmaline, a relatively rare and prized color ranging from teal and greenish blue to deep indigo.

gemstone

Rainforest Jasper

An Australian green rhyolite with eye-like orbs and earthy patterns marketed as jasper, evoking dense rainforest foliage.

igneous
Chrome Chalcedony

Chrome Chalcedony

A vivid green chalcedony colored by chromium, often called mtorolite, resembling chrysoprase but owing its color to chromium rather than nickel.

gemstone
Demantoid Garnet

Demantoid Garnet

A rare green andradite garnet famed for fire exceeding diamond and distinctive horsetail inclusions in Russian stones.

gemstone
Maxixe Aquamarine

Maxixe Aquamarine

A deep blue beryl whose intense color comes from radiation-induced color centers and tends to fade in light, named after the Maxixe mine in Brazil.

gemstone