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.

Rogue River Jasper

Rogue River Jasper

An Oregon picture jasper from the Rogue River area showing earthy scenic patterns in tan, brown, gold, and cream.

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
Cinnamon Stone

Cinnamon Stone

The warm cinnamon-to-honey-brown variety of grossular garnet, also known as hessonite, with a characteristic swirly internal texture.

gemstone
Stone Canyon Jasper

Stone Canyon Jasper

A warm-toned brecciated jasper from central California known for swirling browns, golds, and creams broken by darker seams.

gemstone
Greywacke

Greywacke

A hard, dark, poorly sorted sandstone with a muddy matrix, typically deposited by underwater turbidity currents.

sedimentary
Conglomerate

Conglomerate

A coarse sedimentary rock of rounded pebbles and gravel cemented in a finer matrix, recording ancient rivers and beaches.

sedimentary
Mocha Agate

Mocha Agate

A pale translucent chalcedony threaded with brown-black manganese and iron dendrites that mimic tiny ferns, mosses or landscapes.

gemstone
Metaconglomerate

Metaconglomerate

A conglomerate altered by heat and pressure, often with its rounded pebbles stretched and flattened into elongated lenses.

metamorphic
Wacke

Wacke

A poorly sorted, muddy sandstone with abundant clay matrix between its grains, typically dark and deposited by turbidity currents.

sedimentary
Cherry Creek Jasper

Cherry Creek Jasper

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

mineral
Turbidite

Turbidite

A graded sedimentary deposit laid down by underwater turbidity currents, recording avalanches of sediment cascading down submarine slopes.

sedimentary
Montana Moss Agate

Montana Moss Agate

A translucent chalcedony from Montana filled with black and red dendritic inclusions that look like moss, ferns, or scenic landscapes.

gemstone
Montana Garnet

Montana Garnet

Montana Garnet is red almandine recovered from Montana placer gravels, often alongside the state's famous sapphires.

gemstone
Apache Tears

Apache Tears

Rounded nodules of translucent obsidian, named after a Native American legend, that glow smoky brown when held to light.

igneous
Hells Canyon Jasper

Hells Canyon Jasper

A warm earth-toned jasper from the Hells Canyon region of the Oregon-Idaho border, prized for brecciated browns, reds, and creams.

gemstone
Kentucky Agate

Kentucky Agate

The official state rock of Kentucky, a banded agate famous for striking deep-red and black fortification patterns.

gemstone
Deschutes Jasper

Deschutes Jasper

A prized Oregon picture jasper from the Deschutes region known for soft scenic landscapes in cream, tan, and blue-gray.

mineral
Tintenbar Opal

Tintenbar Opal

Rare precious opal from Tintenbar in northern New South Wales, Australia, occurring in volcanic basalt rather than sedimentary rock.

gemstone
Sandstone

Sandstone

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

sedimentary
Septarian Concretion

Septarian Concretion

A rounded sedimentary nodule cracked internally and filled with veins of yellow calcite, prized for its striking dragon-skin patterning.

sedimentary
Bloodstone

Bloodstone

A dark green chalcedony speckled with blood-red spots of iron oxide, traditionally known as heliotrope.

gemstone
Novaculite

Novaculite

An extremely fine-grained, dense siliceous rock famous as Arkansas whetstone, prized for sharpening fine cutting tools.

sedimentary
Pumice

Pumice

A frothy, lightweight volcanic glass so full of gas bubbles that it can float on water.

igneous
Soapstone

Soapstone

A soft, talc-rich metamorphic rock with a soapy feel, easily carved and highly heat-resistant for cookware and sculpture.

metamorphic