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.

Goshenite

Goshenite

The colorless variety of beryl, named after Goshen, Massachusetts, prized for its purity, clarity, and durability.

gemstone
Orange Garnet

Orange Garnet

A trade term for orange garnets, mainly manganese-rich spessartine and the brownish hessonite variety of grossular.

gemstone
Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase

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

gemstone
Yellow Labradorite

Yellow Labradorite

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

gemstone
Thulite

Thulite

A pink, manganese-rich variety of zoisite used as an ornamental gemstone, often mottled with white quartz and grey matrix.

gemstone
Sapphire

Sapphire

The gem variety of corundum in every color except red, most prized in velvety blue and exceptionally hard and durable.

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
Mint Tourmaline

Mint Tourmaline

A soft, pastel minty-green tourmaline prized for its fresh, light color, a delicate variety of green elbaite.

gemstone
Indicolite

Indicolite

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

gemstone
Green Quartz

Green Quartz

A green variety of macrocrystalline quartz, usually the heat- or radiation-altered prasiolite, prized for its soft mint hue.

crystal
Green Moonstone

Green Moonstone

A pale green variety of feldspar moonstone showing a soft white or bluish adularescent sheen over a greenish body.

gemstone
Green Calcite

Green Calcite

A soft mint-to-apple-green variety of calcite, a common calcium carbonate mineral popular as soothing tumbled stones.

mineral
Frosted Obsidian

Frosted Obsidian

Natural obsidian with a frosted, matte surface produced by weathering, abrasion, or etching rather than a separate variety of glass.

igneous
Bubblegum Tourmaline

Bubblegum Tourmaline

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

gemstone
Black Moonstone

Black Moonstone

A dark gray-to-black feldspar variety of moonstone that shows blue and white adularescent flash against a smoky body.

gemstone
Cleavelandite

Cleavelandite

A striking platy, blade-like variety of albite feldspar that grows in fanned aggregates of thin white crystals within granite pegmatites.

mineral
Sard

Sard

A brownish-red to deep brown variety of chalcedony, closely related to carnelian but darker, colored by iron oxides.

mineral
Peach Tourmaline

Peach Tourmaline

A gentle peachy-pink tourmaline blending soft pink and orange tones, a delicate pastel variety of elbaite.

gemstone
Morion Quartz

Morion Quartz

The darkest, near-opaque black variety of smoky quartz, colored by natural radiation acting on trace aluminum.

crystal
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
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
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
Honey Calcite

Honey Calcite

A warm golden-to-amber variety of calcite, a soft calcium carbonate mineral valued for its honeyed glow and easy carving.

mineral