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.

Mint Tourmaline

Mint Tourmaline

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

gemstone

Frosted Obsidian

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

igneous
Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase

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

gemstone
Websterite

Websterite

A variety of pyroxenite composed of both orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene with little olivine, found in layered intrusions and the mantle.

igneous
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
Citrine

Citrine

The golden-yellow variety of quartz, ranging from pale lemon to deep madeira amber, often produced by heating amethyst.

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
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
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
Black Tourmaline

Black Tourmaline

The opaque black iron-rich variety of tourmaline (schorl), forming striated prismatic crystals popular as a protective grounding stone.

mineral
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
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
Emerald Green Tourmaline

Emerald Green Tourmaline

A richly saturated green variety of elbaite tourmaline whose color rivals emerald, colored by trace iron, chromium, or vanadium.

gemstone

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
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
Cleavelandite

Cleavelandite

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

mineral
Blue Chalcedony

Blue Chalcedony

A translucent, soft blue variety of microcrystalline quartz whose color comes from light scattering through its fine structure.

mineral
Green Tourmaline

Green Tourmaline

The green variety of tourmaline, also called verdelite, ranging from bright grass green to deep forest tones colored by iron.

gemstone