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.

Howlite

Howlite

A white, porous borate mineral webbed with gray-black veins, widely dyed to imitate turquoise and other stones.

mineral
Magnesite

Magnesite

A magnesium carbonate mineral, usually chalky white with grey veining, widely dyed to imitate turquoise and other stones.

mineral
Turquoise

Turquoise

A prized blue to blue-green copper-aluminium phosphate, often veined with dark matrix, treasured for jewelry across many cultures.

mineral
White Moonstone

White Moonstone

The classic moonstone: a milky-white feldspar showing the prized floating blue-to-silver adularescent glow that gives the gem its name.

gemstone
White Agate

White Agate

A white to grayish banded chalcedony, the natural base color of much agate and the substrate for many dyed stones.

gemstone
White Beryl

White Beryl

The colorless to milky-white variety of beryl, known mineralogically as goshenite and once used to imitate diamond and other gems.

gemstone
White Opal

White Opal

The most common precious opal, with a pale milky body that shows softer pastel flashes of play-of-color throughout.

gemstone
White Topaz

White Topaz

A colorless, transparent variety of topaz valued as an affordable, hard, brilliant alternative to diamond in jewelry.

gemstone
White Garnet

White Garnet

The rare colorless-to-white grossular garnet, also called leuco garnet, prized by collectors for its purity and unusual lack of color.

gemstone
White Obsidian

White Obsidian

A pale, partly crystallized volcanic glass; genuinely white obsidian is uncommon and usually reflects devitrification or spherulitic growth in the glass.

igneous
White Tourmaline

White Tourmaline

A colorless to milky-white elbaite tourmaline known as achroite, the rare nearly pigment-free member of the tourmaline group.

gemstone

White Cliffs Opal

Precious opal from the historic White Cliffs field in New South Wales, Australia, famous for light opal and rare opal pineapples.

gemstone
Apophyllite

Apophyllite

A glassy, often colorless silicate that forms pyramid-tipped cubes and is famed for its pearly basal cleavage and watery clarity.

crystal
Danburite

Danburite

A glassy calcium borosilicate forming wedge-tipped prismatic crystals, usually colorless to pale yellow or pink, sometimes faceted as a gem.

crystal

Orca Agate

A bold black-and-white banded chalcedony named for its orca-like coloring, popular as carvings and statement jewelry.

gemstone

Dallasite Jasper

A green-and-white volcanic breccia from Vancouver Island, cemented by jasper and rich in epidote, popular as a regional lapidary stone.

gemstone
Coober Pedy Opal

Coober Pedy Opal

Australia's classic light-bodied precious opal from Coober Pedy, famed for milky white stones flashing pastel rainbow play-of-color.

gemstone

Zebra Agate

A banded chalcedony agate with bold alternating dark and light stripes resembling zebra markings, sometimes color-enhanced.

gemstone

Rainbow Moonstone

A near-colorless feldspar showing blue and multicolored sheen; gemologically a white labradorite rather than true orthoclase moonstone.

gemstone

Alabaster

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

mineral
Zebra Jasper

Zebra Jasper

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

sedimentary
Snowflake Obsidian

Snowflake Obsidian

A black volcanic glass speckled with gray-white cristobalite snowflakes, formed as obsidian begins to crystallize.

igneous
Parian Marble

Parian Marble

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

metamorphic
Tree Agate

Tree Agate

A white chalcedony filled with green or black dendritic, tree-like mineral inclusions that resemble ferns or moss frozen in stone.

gemstone