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.

Snow Quartz

Snow Quartz

An opaque, snow-white variety of quartz whose milky color comes from countless tiny gas and fluid inclusions.

crystal
Butterstone Jasper

Butterstone Jasper

A soft-toned cream-to-butterscotch jasper colored by iron oxides, prized by lapidaries for its smooth, even, opaque finish.

gemstone
Morganite Crystal

Morganite Crystal

The natural crystal form of morganite, the manganese-colored pink-to-peach variety of beryl popular in romantic jewelry.

crystal
Melanite Garnet

Melanite Garnet

The titanium-rich black variety of andradite garnet, with a brilliant resinous luster prized for mourning and statement jewelry.

gemstone
Green Opal

Green Opal

A common opal colored green by nickel or chromium impurities, usually opaque and cut into cabochons and beads.

gemstone
Black Jasper

Black Jasper

A dense, opaque black variety of microcrystalline quartz historically used as a touchstone for testing precious metals.

mineral
Strawberry Garnet

Strawberry Garnet

A bright strawberry-red garnet, typically an almandine-pyrope blend prized for its juicy, lively red color in jewelry.

gemstone
Raspberry Garnet

Raspberry Garnet

A vivid pinkish-red rhodolite garnet named for its raspberry color, a bright pyrope-almandine blend popular in jewelry.

gemstone
Fossiliferous Limestone

Fossiliferous Limestone

Calcium-carbonate sedimentary rock packed with visible fossils, recording ancient marine life within an easily scratched, fizzing matrix.

sedimentary
Crazy Lace Agate

Crazy Lace Agate

A Mexican banded agate famous for tightly swirling, contorted lacy patterns in warm reds, creams, and golds.

mineral
Labradorite

Labradorite

A plagioclase feldspar famous for labradorescence, a dramatic flash of iridescent blue, green, and gold across a dark gray stone.

mineral
Orca Agate

Orca Agate

A bold black-and-white banded chalcedony named for its orca-like coloring, popular as carvings and statement jewelry.

gemstone
Mint Opal

Mint Opal

A soft mint-green variety of common opal, usually opaque and colored by trace copper or nontronite inclusions rather than play-of-color.

gemstone
Graveyard Point Agate

Graveyard Point Agate

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

gemstone
Outlaw Jasper

Outlaw Jasper

A boldly patterned western jasper in browns, reds, and golds, prized by lapidaries for its dramatic scenic and brecciated figures.

gemstone
Pastel Tourmaline

Pastel Tourmaline

A trade name for lightly saturated elbaite tourmalines in delicate pastel pinks, mints, peaches, and blues popular in modern jewelry.

gemstone
London Blue Topaz

London Blue Topaz

The deepest, most saturated blue grade of treated topaz, prized for its rich steely-blue color and durability in jewelry.

gemstone
Apricot Agate

Apricot Agate

A soft peachy-orange variety of banded chalcedony, naturally iron-tinted or dyed, popular for warm-toned beads and jewelry.

gemstone
Snakeskin Jasper

Snakeskin Jasper

An opaque patterned jasper named for its scaly, snakeskin-like surface markings of interlocking tan and brown cells.

mineral
Bubblegum Tourmaline

Bubblegum Tourmaline

A bright, opaque-to-translucent bubblegum-pink elbaite tourmaline, a playful candy-pink variety popular in beads and cabochons.

gemstone
Condor Agate

Condor Agate

A vividly banded fortification agate from Argentina prized for its bold red, gold and white concentric patterns.

gemstone
Stone Canyon Jasper

Stone Canyon Jasper

A warm-toned brecciated jasper from central California known for swirling browns, golds, and creams broken by darker seams.

gemstone
Jet

Jet

A lightweight black organic gemstone formed from fossilized wood under pressure, a type of lignite long used in mourning jewelry.

sedimentary
Bohemian Garnet

Bohemian Garnet

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

gemstone