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.

Strawberry Garnet

Strawberry Garnet

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

gemstone
Crimson Obsidian

Crimson Obsidian

A deep red glass sold as obsidian; vivid uniform crimson material is usually manufactured glass rather than natural volcanic obsidian.

igneous
Blood Agate

Blood Agate

A deep red banded agate colored by iron oxides, valued as a vivid red lapidary and jewelry stone.

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
Cranberry Tourmaline

Cranberry Tourmaline

A deep cranberry-red to purplish-pink variety of lithium-rich elbaite tourmaline, prized as a rich, saturated rubellite gemstone.

gemstone
Dalmatian Stone

Dalmatian Stone

A cream-colored feldspar-and-quartz rock peppered with dark spots, named for its resemblance to a Dalmatian dog.

igneous
Dragon Garnet

Dragon Garnet

A trade name for deep wine-red garnet, typically a rich pyrope-almandine stone marketed for its dramatic, fiery color.

gemstone
Crocoite

Crocoite

A striking lead chromate mineral prized for its brilliant orange-red prismatic crystals, with the finest specimens from Tasmania.

mineral
Cherry Obsidian

Cherry Obsidian

A vivid cherry-red glass sold as obsidian; the bright transparent red color is manufactured, as natural obsidian only shows dull red-brown mahogany tones.

igneous
Siberite

Siberite

A historic name for the red-violet to purplish lithium tourmaline first prized from Siberia, closely tied to the rubellite variety.

gemstone
Ruby

Ruby

The red, chromium-colored variety of corundum, prized as one of the most valuable colored gemstones and second only to diamond in hardness.

gemstone
Menilite Opal

Menilite Opal

An opaque grey-brown common opal forming nodules and concretions, historically called liver opal for its dull brownish color.

mineral
Pipestone

Pipestone

A soft, fine-grained red metamorphosed claystone, sacred to many Native American peoples and carved into ceremonial pipes.

metamorphic
Burgundy Tourmaline

Burgundy Tourmaline

A deep wine-red to maroon tourmaline colored by manganese, a rich darker-toned member of the red-pink rubellite family.

gemstone
Tiger Iron

Tiger Iron

A banded combination rock of golden tiger's eye, red jasper, and metallic hematite, formed in ancient iron deposits.

metamorphic
Cherry Opal

Cherry Opal

A translucent red opal, closely related to Mexican fire opal, glowing with a warm cherry-red body color often free of play-of-color.

gemstone
Andesine

Andesine

An intermediate plagioclase feldspar between albite and anorthite, marketed as a red to champagne gemstone, sometimes color-treated.

gemstone
Vanadinite

Vanadinite

A brilliant orange-red lead vanadate mineral forming hexagonal crystals, prized by collectors and mined as an ore of vanadium.

mineral
Carnelian

Carnelian

A warm orange-to-red variety of chalcedony quartz colored by iron oxide, used since antiquity for seals, beads, and cabochons.

gemstone
Carey Plume Agate

Carey Plume Agate

A prized plume agate from near Carey, Idaho, showing red, pink and black feathery plumes floating in translucent chalcedony.

gemstone
Sandstone

Sandstone

A clastic sedimentary rock made of cemented sand grains, often quartz, recording ancient beaches, deserts, and rivers.

sedimentary
Erythrite

Erythrite

A soft pink to crimson hydrated cobalt arsenate, famous as cobalt bloom that signals nearby cobalt ores.

mineral
Chalcedony

Chalcedony

A waxy, translucent microcrystalline form of quartz that serves as the parent group for agate, jasper, carnelian, and onyx.

mineral
Niccolite

Niccolite

A pale copper-red nickel arsenide, historically called kupfernickel, that is an ore of nickel and gives the metal its name.

mineral