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
Rock Gypsum

Rock Gypsum

A soft sedimentary evaporite made of massive gypsum, deposited when sulfate-rich seawater or lake water evaporates and concentrates.

sedimentary
Dalmatian Stone

Dalmatian Stone

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

igneous
Asphalt Rock

Asphalt Rock

A porous sedimentary rock naturally saturated with bitumen, dark, tarry-smelling, and historically mined for paving.

sedimentary
Coral Rock

Coral Rock

A porous limestone built from the calcium carbonate skeletons of corals and reef organisms, the lithified remains of ancient or modern reefs.

sedimentary
Rock Salt

Rock Salt

An evaporite rock of the mineral halite (sodium chloride), the source of common salt, with a distinctive salty taste.

sedimentary
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
Calc-Silicate Rock

Calc-Silicate Rock

A metamorphic rock of calcium-rich silicate minerals formed from impure limestone or dolomite altered by heat and fluids.

metamorphic
Talc-carbonate Rock

Talc-carbonate Rock

A soft metamorphic rock made of talc and magnesite or dolomite, formed by hydrothermal alteration of ultramafic rocks.

metamorphic
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
Kentucky Agate

Kentucky Agate

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

gemstone
Cherry Creek Jasper

Cherry Creek Jasper

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

mineral
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
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
Tintenbar Opal

Tintenbar Opal

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

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
Conglomerate

Conglomerate

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

sedimentary
Oolite

Oolite

A limestone made of tiny spherical ooids, resembling fish roe, formed in warm, agitated shallow seas.

sedimentary
Sandstone

Sandstone

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

sedimentary
Limestone

Limestone

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

sedimentary
Ironstone

Ironstone

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

sedimentary
Coquina

Coquina

A soft, porous limestone made of loosely cemented shell and coral fragments, used as a coastal building stone.

sedimentary
Pisolite

Pisolite

A sedimentary rock built from pea-sized concentric spheres called pisoids, often carbonate but sometimes iron or aluminum-rich.

sedimentary