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.

Tiger Iron

Tiger Iron

A banded combination rock of golden tiger's eye, red jasper, and metallic hematite, formed in ancient iron deposits.

metamorphic

Hutcheonite

A titanium-aluminum garnet discovered in calcium-aluminum inclusions of the Allende meteorite, recording the earliest history of the solar system.

mineral

Eulysite

A rare, dense iron-rich metamorphic rock composed of fayalite, iron pyroxene, and almandine garnet.

metamorphic
Buergerite

Buergerite

A rare iron-rich (ferric) species of the tourmaline group, dark brown to bronze-black, named after crystallographer Martin Buerger.

mineral
Ironstone

Ironstone

An iron-rich sedimentary rock, often heavy and rusty-weathering, historically mined as a major source of iron ore.

sedimentary

Eltyubyuite

A rare chlorine-bearing iron garnet-supergroup mineral, the ferric analogue of wadalite, formed in high-temperature combustion-metamorphic rocks.

mineral

Pantellerite

An iron-rich peralkaline rhyolite, a silica-rich volcanic rock named for the Italian island of Pantelleria.

igneous
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
Pyrite

Pyrite

The brassy iron sulfide mineral famous as 'fool's gold,' known for sharp metallic cubes and a much higher hardness than real gold.

mineral
Siderite

Siderite

Siderite is an iron carbonate ore, a brown rhombohedral mineral of the calcite group found in sediments and veins.

mineral
Hematite

Hematite

The principal iron ore, a heavy iron oxide ranging from metallic silver-gray to earthy red, always leaving a tell-tale red-brown streak.

mineral
Bixbyite

Bixbyite

A black metallic manganese iron oxide famous for sharp cubic crystals, classically found with red beryl and topaz in Utah rhyolite.

mineral

Bronze Sheen Obsidian

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

igneous
Glauconite

Glauconite

A soft, green iron-potassium mica that forms in marine sediments and gives greensand its characteristic olive color.

mineral
Feruvite

Feruvite

A calcium- and ferrous-iron-rich tourmaline, the iron analogue of uvite, forming dark brown to black crystals in skarns and metamorphic rocks.

mineral
Sperrylite

Sperrylite

A rare platinum arsenide and the most important platinum-bearing mineral, forming bright metallic cubic crystals.

mineral
Brookite

Brookite

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

mineral
Schorl

Schorl

The common iron-rich black variety of tourmaline, by far the most abundant tourmaline species and a popular grounding crystal.

mineral
Red Obsidian

Red Obsidian

Volcanic glass tinted red by fine iron-oxide inclusions, often blended with black to form mahogany-patterned obsidian.

crystal
Bronzite

Bronzite

An iron-rich orthopyroxene prized for its warm bronze schiller, a metallic-looking sheen created by tiny mineral inclusions.

mineral
Black Tourmaline

Black Tourmaline

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

mineral
Pyrrhotite

Pyrrhotite

A bronze-colored iron sulfide notable for being the most magnetic of the common sulfide minerals and an important nickel host.

mineral
Arsenopyrite

Arsenopyrite

A silver-white iron arsenic sulfide and the most common arsenic mineral, known for striking sparks and a garlic smell when struck.

mineral
Paracelsian

Paracelsian

A rare barium aluminosilicate that is a monoclinic polymorph of celsian, found in barium-rich metamorphic and manganese deposits.

mineral