sedimentary
Wishing Rock
Quartz-veined sedimentary rock
AI-generated identification · may be incorrectHardness 7 for the quartz veins and 3-4 for the host rock, greenish-gray color with white banding, vitreous to dull luster, amorphous overall crystal structure with crystalline quartz veins.
Identified More sedimentary →
Explore Wishing Rock in the encyclopedia →Identify your own rocks.
Get a report just like this from any photo, free.
Physical properties
Hardness 7 for the quartz veins and 3-4 for the host rock, greenish-gray color with white banding, vitreous to dull luster, amorphous overall crystal structure with crystalline quartz veins.
Formation & geological history
Formed when hydrothermal fluids rich in silica filled fractures within a pre-existing sedimentary host rock, crystallizing into quartz veins over millions of years.
Uses & applications
Popular as a polished decorative stone, collector specimen, and used in folk tradition for meditation and good luck charms.
Geological facts
Commonly known as wishing rocks because folk legend states that if a single, unbroken quartz band encircles the entire stone, wishes made upon it may come true.
Field identification & locations
Easily identified by contrasting white quartz bands wrapping around a darker rounded river or beach pebble; found globally in stream beds and coastal zones.
More like this
Other sedimentary specimens
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
fossil
Sandstone or Siltstone
Arenite (if sandstone)
Sedimentary
Fossiliferous Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary limestone with invertebrate fossil imprint
fossil
Shale
Fissile Sedimentary Rock
sedimentary
Sandstone
Arenite
sedimentary
Shale
Clastic sedimentary rock
sedimentary