Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Marble

A metamorphosed limestone of interlocking calcite crystals, prized for sculpture and architecture for its workability and polish.

Translucent banded calcium-carbonate stone deposited in caves and springs, prized for ornamental carvings despite its softness.

A green-and-white banded metamorphic marble whose wavy mica layers resemble the rings of a sliced onion.

A pure, translucent white marble from the Greek island of Paros, the preferred stone of ancient sculptors for its waxy glow.

The fine white marble of Mount Pentelikon used to build the Parthenon, famous for the golden patina it develops with age.

A famous white to blue-grey Italian marble from Carrara, prized for centuries by sculptors and architects for its purity and fine grain.

A marbled, abstractly patterned stone resembling modern art, technically a metamorphosed limestone rather than a true silica jasper.

A soft, fine-grained, translucent form of gypsum (or banded calcite) long prized as a carving and ornamental stone.

A foliated metamorphic rock of calcite mixed with mica, quartz, and calc-silicate minerals, derived from marly sediments.

A 'mixed rock' showing swirling light and dark bands, formed where high-grade metamorphism causes rock to begin partially melting.

A banded, porous limestone deposited by mineral springs, prized as a warm-toned natural building and tile stone.

A black-and-white striped chalcedony-quartz rock whose bold zebra-like banding makes it a popular ornamental and lapidary stone.

A vivid yellow-and-black banded stone from Indonesian volcanic vents, colored by sulfur, arsenic minerals and iron oxides, not true jasper.

A soft carbonate sedimentary rock made mostly of calcite, often packed with marine fossils and prone to forming caves.

Calcium-carbonate sedimentary rock packed with visible fossils, recording ancient marine life within an easily scratched, fizzing matrix.