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.

Silver Leaf Jasper

A gray-toned jasper with swirling cream, black, and brown leaf-like patterns, sometimes with druzy or agate pockets.

mineral
Poppy Jasper

Poppy Jasper

An orbicular jasper with red and orange flower-like spots resembling poppies, famously from Morgan Hill, California.

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
Picture Jasper

Picture Jasper

An opaque brown chalcedony whose iron-stained banding mimics deserts, dunes, and distant mountain skylines.

mineral
Dalmatian Stone

Dalmatian Stone

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

igneous
Pelitic Schist

Pelitic Schist

A schist derived from clay-rich sediments, rich in mica and often bearing index minerals like garnet, staurolite, or kyanite.

metamorphic

Smoky Obsidian

Translucent smoky-gray obsidian that transmits a hazy light, intermediate between clear and fully black volcanic glass.

igneous
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 Crystal

Aquamarine Crystal

The blue iron-bearing variety of beryl, forming clear hexagonal crystals prized both as specimens and as a March birthstone gem.

crystal
Phyllite

Phyllite

A fine-grained foliated metamorphic rock between slate and schist, recognized by its silky silvery sheen and wavy, crinkled surfaces.

metamorphic

Noreena Jasper

A rare Australian jasper from the Pilbara with bold red, yellow, and black abstract patterns, prized by collectors.

mineral

Slate

A fine-grained, low-grade metamorphic rock that splits into flat sheets along slaty cleavage, long used for roofing and flooring.

metamorphic
Garnet

Garnet

A group of silicate gemstones best known for deep red but spanning nearly every color, including green tsavorite and orange spessartine.

gemstone
Graphite Schist

Graphite Schist

A dark, foliated schist rich in graphite that leaves a grey-black mark and forms from metamorphosed carbon-rich sediments.

metamorphic
Dalmatian Jasper

Dalmatian Jasper

A cream-colored spotted stone resembling a Dalmatian dog, made of feldspar and quartz dotted with dark mineral grains.

igneous
Cherry Creek Jasper

Cherry Creek Jasper

A landscape-patterned Chinese jasper prized for warm cherry-red, cream, and green bands resembling painted scenery.

mineral

Willow Creek Jasper

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

mineral
Copper-Bearing Tourmaline

Copper-Bearing Tourmaline

Tourmaline colored by copper, producing the famous vivid neon blues, greens and teals known commercially as Paraiba-type gems.

gemstone
Paraiba Tourmaline

Paraiba Tourmaline

An intensely glowing copper-bearing tourmaline famed for its electric neon blue-green color and extreme rarity and value.

gemstone
Pietersite

Pietersite

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

gemstone
Onyx

Onyx

A banded variety of chalcedony quartz, classically black or black-and-white, long favored for cameos and beads.

gemstone
Tinguaite

Tinguaite

A fine-grained green phonolitic dike rock rich in nepheline and aegirine, the hypabyssal equivalent of phonolite.

igneous
Smithsonite

Smithsonite

Smithsonite is a zinc carbonate ore famous for glassy botryoidal crusts in blue-green, pink, and yellow hues.

mineral
Agate

Agate

A banded variety of chalcedony quartz, famed for its colorful concentric layers and enormous range of patterns and colors.

mineral