Rock Info
When I first got into rock hunting, I noticed something funny—people often use different names for the same kind of rock! So, I decided to create this page to define the rocks I’ve found or hope to find one day. I try to include sources when I can, but this is mostly based on my own experiences and research. Think of it as my personal rock journal, with a little bit of detective work thrown in.
Rock Name: Druzy Quartz
Other Names: Drusy, Druse
Pronunciation: dru·sy -zē
Type: Mineral
Classification: Framework Silicate mineral
Chemical Formula/Composition: Overall chemical forrmula SiO2
Luster: vitreous or glass like
Color: Various, any depending on the minerals composition
Transparency: transparent, translucent or opaque
Fracture/Cleavage: none to indistinct
Uses: jewelry, home decor, and spiritual practices
Key Features: Druzy is a description of a crystal formation. Druzy is the layer of sparkling crystals that form on the surface of a rock or mineral. The size of the druzy can vary from extremely small crystal points to large crystal points. Druzy can form from minerals like quartz, calcite, chalcedony, malachite, azurite, garnet, hematite, and cobalt calcite. Druzy is the formation of crystals on the rock surface. That surface could be agate or other rock.
Sources: GeologyIn.com
Rock Name: Missouri Lace Agate
Other Names: Lace agate, Crazy lace agate,
Pronunciation: a-get
Type: Mineraloid
Classification: Chalcedony - Group:
Chemical Formula/Composition: SiO2 - Silicon dioxide, microcrystalline variety of quartz
Luster: Waxy, dull
Color: Various, gray, red, white, multicolored
Transparency: Translucent
Mohs Hardness: 6 1/2 - 7
Fracture/Cleavage: Irregular, curved, or conchoidal (like a seashell)
Uses: Jewelry, home decor, spiritual practices
Key Features: Used in jewelry, home decor, or spiritual practices.
Sources: Wikipedia, gemstones.com, minedat.org
Rock Name: Baryte
Other Names: Barite, Tiff, Bologna Stone,
Pronunciation: ba-ryte
Type: Mineral
Classification: Sulfate - Group: Celestine
Chemical Formula/Composition: Barium sulfate BaSO4
Luster: Vitreous (glass-like), pearly
Color: White, colorless
Fracture/Cleavage: Perfect cleavage parallel to base and prism faces, uneven or irregular
Uses: Weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration, Baryte is used in added-value applications, which include filler in paint and plastics, sound reduction in engine compartments, coat of automobile finishes for smoothness and corrosion resistance, friction products for automobiles and trucks, radiation shielding concrete, glass ceramics, and medical applications (for example, a barium meal before a contrast CT scan).
Key Features: Barite is deposited through many processes, including biogenic, hydrothermal, and evaporation. Baryte commonly occurs in lead-zinc veins in limestones, in hot spring deposits, and with hematite ore. Worldwide, 69–77% of baryte is used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration to suppress high formation pressures and prevent blowouts.
Sources: Mindat.org, Wikipedia
Rock Name: Hematite
Other Names: Haematite
Pronunciation: hee·muh·tite
Type: Mineral
Classification: Oxide Mineral
Chemical Formula/Composition: Fe2O3
Luster: bright metallic to submetallic
Color: Red to Silvery-Black
Transparency: Opaque
Mohs Hardness: 5.5 - 6.5
Fracture/Cleavage: Uneven to subconchoidal
Uses: Pigment, Jewelry, Iron Oar
Key Features: Used as a source of Iron ore for steel products and for pigment minerals
Sources: Geology Rocks & Minerals, Rock&Gem, Wikipedia
Rock Name: Galena
Other Names:
Pronunciation: guh·lee·nuh
Type: Mineral
Classification: sulfide mineral - Group: octahedral sulfide group
Chemical Formula/Composition: PbS
Luster: Metallic, Sub-Metallic, Dull
Color: Lead-Grey silver
Transparency: Opaque
Mohs Hardness: 2 1/2
Fracture/Cleavage: perfect cleavage in 3 directions that intersect at 90 degrees
Uses: Galena is lead ore
Key Features: Found in Igneous Metamorphic and Sedimentary rocks. Lead is the primary element in Galena
Sources: Geology.com, Mindat.org, Britannica