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.

Peanut Wood Jasper

A fossilized, silicified wood from Australia with white peanut-shaped spots, formed where ancient driftwood was bored by clams and filled with pale sediment.

gemstone

Sea Sediment Jasper

A colorful trade-name material, often dyed and reconstituted, sold as jasper; vivid blues and greens are typically artificially enhanced.

mineral

Starry Night Jasper

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

mineral

Owyhee Blue Jasper

A soft blue-gray jasper from the Owyhee region of Oregon and Idaho, prized for its rare, calming blue tones among earthy jaspers.

gemstone

Willow Creek Jasper

A prized Idaho jasper known for porcelain-smooth pastel pinks, creams, and greens in soft swirling, orbicular patterns.

mineral
Leopard Skin Jasper

Leopard Skin Jasper

A spotted jasper-rhyolite patterned with leopard-like rings and ovals, valued as an earthy ornamental and lapidary stone.

sedimentary
Cave Creek Jasper

Cave Creek Jasper

An opaque jasper from the Cave Creek area of Arizona, prized for earthy mottled and banded patterns in warm desert tones.

mineral

Frog Skin Jasper

A mottled green jasper whose blotchy spotting resembles frog skin, valued by lapidaries for its earthy, camouflage-like patterns.

gemstone
Yellow Agate

Yellow Agate

A yellow to golden banded chalcedony colored by iron, ranging from natural honey tones to dyed commercial stones.

gemstone
Yellow Labradorite

Yellow Labradorite

A transparent yellow to golden gem variety of labradorite feldspar, usually faceted to show its clear, warm color.

gemstone
Yellow Obsidian

Yellow Obsidian

Yellow to golden volcanic glass; natural examples owe their color to iron, though much bright yellow obsidian on the market is manufactured glass.

igneous
Yellow Opal

Yellow Opal

A cheerful yellow opal ranging from translucent common opal to golden fire opal, colored by trace iron in the silica.

gemstone
Yellow Beryl

Yellow Beryl

The yellow variety of beryl, also called heliodor or golden beryl, colored by iron and valued for its bright color and durability.

gemstone
Yellow Garnet

Yellow Garnet

A trade term for yellow garnets, including golden grossular, yellow andradite (topazolite), and yellow-green Mali garnet.

gemstone
Yellow Tourmaline

Yellow Tourmaline

Bright yellow to golden tourmaline colored by manganese, with the most vivid canary stones among the rarest tourmaline hues.

gemstone
Yellow-Green Obsidian

Yellow-Green Obsidian

A chartreuse yellow-green glass sold as obsidian; the bright color is manufactured and does not occur in natural volcanic glass.

igneous

Red Sandstone

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

sedimentary
Red Tourmaline

Red Tourmaline

Vivid red to raspberry tourmaline, the most intense colors are marketed as rubellite, colored by manganese in the elbaite structure.

gemstone
Red Agate

Red Agate

A red-toned banded chalcedony colored by iron oxides, ranging from natural carnelian-like reds to heat-treated stones.

gemstone
Red Garnet

Red Garnet

The classic deep-red garnet — usually almandine or pyrope — long worn as the fiery 'carbuncle' gem and January's birthstone.

gemstone
Red Opal

Red Opal

An opal with a deep red body color, often a variety of Mexican fire opal, prized for its warm, glowing intensity.

gemstone
Red Beryl

Red Beryl

An exceptionally rare red variety of beryl colored by manganese, found chiefly in Utah and prized as one of the rarest gems.

gemstone
Red Obsidian

Red Obsidian

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

crystal

Red Emerald

A marketing name for red beryl, the rare manganese-colored beryl from Utah, evoking emerald to convey its prestige and rarity.

gemstone