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.

Pink Beryl

Pink Beryl

The pink to peach variety of beryl, better known as morganite, colored by manganese and prized for its gentle pastel hues.

gemstone
Pumpkin Obsidian

Pumpkin Obsidian

An orange-to-rust colored variety of natural volcanic glass whose warm tone comes from iron oxide staining within the obsidian.

igneous

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
Golden Emerald

Golden Emerald

A trade name occasionally used for golden-yellow beryl (golden beryl or heliodor), the iron-colored yellow variety of the emerald mineral.

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
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
Larimar

Larimar

A rare sky-blue variety of pectolite found only in the Dominican Republic, prized for its sea-like color and white volcanic patterning.

gemstone
Topazolite Garnet

Topazolite Garnet

A rare yellow to golden variety of andradite garnet, the topaz-colored cousin of green demantoid, prized for high dispersion and brilliance.

gemstone
Aquamarine

Aquamarine

The serene blue-to-sea-green variety of beryl, aquamarine is a durable gemstone colored by trace iron and birthstone for March.

gemstone

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
Rubellite

Rubellite

The red to raspberry-pink variety of tourmaline, prized for its vivid ruby-like color that holds under both daylight and artificial light.

gemstone
Red Jasper

Red Jasper

An opaque, iron-rich variety of microcrystalline quartz known for its deep brick-red color and ancient history as a stone of strength and grounding.

gemstone
Peridot

Peridot

The gem-quality green variety of olivine, peridot is colored by iron and is one of the few gems found in only one color.

gemstone
Blue Beryl

Blue Beryl

The blue color variety of beryl, ranging from pale sky tones to rich sea-blue, best known in its finest grades as aquamarine.

gemstone
Moonstone

Moonstone

A feldspar gem famous for adularescence, a floating blue-white glow that shimmers across the stone like moonlight.

gemstone

Flame Obsidian

Black volcanic glass that flashes flame-like bands of iridescent color when light strikes aligned nanoscale inclusions.

igneous

Bronze Sheen Obsidian

Black volcanic glass with a warm bronze or coppery sheen produced by light reflecting off aligned microscopic inclusions.

igneous
Sodalite

Sodalite

A royal-blue feldspathoid mineral with white calcite veining, often confused with lapis lazuli but lacking its golden pyrite flecks.

mineral

Lace Obsidian

Black volcanic glass laced with delicate web-like veins of contrasting color, formed by flow banding and fine crystallization.

igneous

Starry Night Obsidian

Black volcanic glass dotted with small light-colored mineral specks resembling stars scattered across a night sky.

igneous
Brookite

Brookite

An orthorhombic titanium dioxide polymorph forming tabular brown to black crystals with brilliant metallic-adamantine luster.

mineral

Leopard Obsidian

Black volcanic glass marked with rounded spots and patches that resemble a leopard's coat, caused by spherulitic crystallization.

igneous
Syenite

Syenite

A coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock dominated by alkali feldspar with little or no quartz.

igneous
Albite

Albite

The sodium end-member of the plagioclase feldspar series, a common white rock-forming mineral and parent of peristerite moonstone.

mineral