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.

Ocean Jasper

Ocean Jasper

A multicolored orbicular chalcedony from Madagascar famous for its circular eye-like orbs in greens, pinks, whites, and yellows.

sedimentary
Geode

Geode

A hollow rock nodule whose interior cavity is lined with inward-pointing crystals such as quartz, amethyst, or calcite.

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

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

Rogue River Jasper

An Oregon picture jasper from the Rogue River area showing earthy scenic patterns in tan, brown, gold, and cream.

mineral
Zebra Jasper

Zebra Jasper

A black-and-white striped chalcedony-quartz rock whose bold zebra-like banding makes it a popular ornamental and lapidary stone.

sedimentary
Pietersite

Pietersite

A brecciated, chatoyant quartz with swirling blue, gold, and brown fibers that shimmer like a stormy sky.

gemstone

Cobra Jasper

A banded jasper with cream, tan, and brown layers resembling snakeskin, often sourced from Madagascar.

mineral

Elephant Skin Jasper

A gray-brown jasper whose mottled, wrinkled patterning resembles elephant hide, also sold as Miriam or calligraphy stone.

mineral
Bruneau Jasper

Bruneau Jasper

A prized Idaho picture jasper from Bruneau Canyon known for brown and cream orbicular egg-rock patterns and scenic landscapes.

mineral
Cognac Tourmaline

Cognac Tourmaline

A warm cognac-brown to reddish-brown tourmaline, typically magnesium-rich dravite, prized for its rich whisky-like color.

gemstone
Sherry Tourmaline

Sherry Tourmaline

A warm sherry-brown to orange-brown tourmaline, usually magnesium-rich dravite, named for its rich fortified-wine color.

gemstone
Mahogany Obsidian

Mahogany Obsidian

A natural volcanic glass with rich brown and black mahogany-like swirls created by iron oxide inclusions.

igneous
Chocolate Garnet

Chocolate Garnet

A rich brown variety of andradite (or grossular-andradite) garnet, marketed for its warm chocolate color and notable brilliance.

gemstone
Chocolate Opal

Chocolate Opal

Precious opal with a warm chocolate-brown body tone that makes its rainbow play-of-color glow, mainly from Ethiopia and Mexico.

gemstone
Dravite

Dravite

The magnesium-rich brown member of the tourmaline group, named for Austria's Drava River and prized for warm earthy tones.

mineral
Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase

A translucent apple-green chalcedony colored by nickel, the most prized green variety of the quartz family.

gemstone
Honey Garnet

Honey Garnet

A warm golden-brown garnet named for its honey color, typically a hessonite grossular variety with a distinctive treacly internal texture.

gemstone
Lignite

Lignite

The lowest rank of coal, a soft brown carbon-rich rock formed from compacted peat, used mainly for electricity generation.

sedimentary
Champagne Tourmaline

Champagne Tourmaline

A soft brown to golden-brown tourmaline with warm, neutral tones reminiscent of sparkling champagne.

gemstone
Champagne Garnet

Champagne Garnet

A soft brownish-golden garnet named for its champagne color, usually a malaia-type pyrope-spessartine blend prized for warm, neutral tones.

gemstone
Jasper

Jasper

An opaque, often colorfully patterned variety of chalcedony quartz, popular for tumbling, carving, and jewelry.

mineral
Limonite

Limonite

Limonite is an amorphous brown iron oxide ore, the rust-colored material behind ochre pigments and bog iron.

mineral

Prase

An old name for a dull leek-green variety of quartz or chalcedony colored by green mineral inclusions, historically called mother of emerald.

crystal