sedimentary

Jasper

Silicon Dioxide (Microcrystalline Quartz)

Hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, red to brown color with a waxy luster, and a cryptocrystalline structure with no cleavage.

Identified October 28, 2026More sedimentary →

Get a report just like this from any photo, free.

Physical properties

Hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, red to brown color with a waxy luster, and a cryptocrystalline structure with no cleavage.

Forms from the precipitation of silica-rich fluids in sedimentary basins or volcanic environments, often during the Precambrian to Cenozoic eras.

Used primarily for making ornamental items, cabochons, carvings, and as a popular specimen for mineral collectors.

Jasper has been used since ancient times for amulets, seals, and tools due to its toughness and ability to take a fine polish.

Identify by its opaque, colorful appearance and conchoidal fracture. Commonly found in riverbeds, glacial tills, and hydrothermal veins worldwide.

Fossil-bearing concretion, possibly containing a fossil shell or other organic inclusion

Calcareous concretion; exact fossil and host-rock composition are not identifiable from the image

Fossiliferous Sedimentary Rock

Sedimentary limestone with invertebrate fossil imprint

Sandstone or Siltstone

Arenite (if sandstone)

Sandstone

Arenite

Shale

Shale (clastic sedimentary rock)

Shale (or Mudstone/Siltstone)

Sedimentary Mudrock (SiO2, Al2O3 base with clay minerals)