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.

Tourmalinated Quartz

Tourmalinated Quartz

Clear or milky quartz threaded with black needles of tourmaline (schorl), combining quartz clarity with dramatic dark inclusions.

crystal
Graphic Feldspar

Graphic Feldspar

A pegmatite rock of feldspar intergrown with wedge-shaped quartz that resembles ancient runic or Hebrew writing.

igneous
Epidosite

Epidosite

A hard, pistachio-green rock composed mainly of epidote and quartz, formed by hydrothermal alteration of mafic rocks.

metamorphic
Syenite

Syenite

A coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock dominated by alkali feldspar with little or no quartz.

igneous

Gondite

A metamorphic rock made chiefly of manganese-rich spessartine garnet and quartz, formed from ancient manganese-bearing sediments.

metamorphic

Unakite Jasper

An altered granite of pink feldspar, green epidote and quartz, mottled pink-and-green and popular as a tumbled and carving stone.

metamorphic
Mariposite

Mariposite

A green, gold-associated metamorphic rock made of chrome-rich mica and quartz, named for Mariposa County in California's gold country.

metamorphic
Arkose

Arkose

A coarse, feldspar-rich sandstone, often pink, that records rapid erosion of granitic source rock under arid conditions.

sedimentary
Monzonite

Monzonite

An intermediate plutonic rock with nearly equal alkali and plagioclase feldspar and very little quartz, sitting between diorite and syenite.

igneous
Latite

Latite

The fine-grained volcanic equivalent of monzonite, an intermediate lava with nearly equal feldspars and little free quartz.

igneous
Geode

Geode

A hollow rock nodule whose interior cavity is lined with inward-pointing crystals such as quartz, amethyst, or calcite.

mineral
Tonalite

Tonalite

A quartz-rich plutonic rock dominated by plagioclase feldspar with little alkali feldspar, closely related to granodiorite and quartz diorite.

igneous
Granodiorite

Granodiorite

A common coarse-grained intrusive rock like granite but richer in plagioclase than potassium feldspar.

igneous
Felsite

Felsite

A general term for light-colored, fine-grained volcanic rocks rich in quartz and feldspar, like rhyolite.

igneous
Granite

Granite

A coarse-grained, speckled intrusive rock built from quartz, feldspar, and mica, forming the bedrock of the continents.

igneous
Granulite

Granulite

A high-grade metamorphic rock formed in the deep, hot crust, marked by anhydrous minerals like pyroxene and garnet.

metamorphic
Unakite

Unakite

An altered granite mottled pink and green from feldspar and epidote, popular as a tough, colorful ornamental rock.

metamorphic
Dalmatian Stone

Dalmatian Stone

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

igneous
Trachyte

Trachyte

A fine-grained volcanic rock dominated by alkali feldspar, the extrusive equivalent of syenite.

igneous

Rainforest Jasper

An Australian green rhyolite with eye-like orbs and earthy patterns marketed as jasper, evoking dense rainforest foliage.

igneous
Adinole

Adinole

A fine-grained, sodium-rich contact-metasomatic rock formed where shale is albitized next to intruding diabase or spilite.

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
Khondalite

Khondalite

A high-grade metamorphic gneiss of garnet, sillimanite, quartz, and graphite, derived from ancient aluminous sediments.

metamorphic
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