FreeHow to identify a rock or mineral from a photo
Crystal face, fresh break, or polished stone — how to shoot the photo that names the mineral.
Learn the ground
Know the rock before you collect it.
Identification, key features, hardness, where to look, care — rockhound know-how, free to read inside the app and right here.
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FreeKey features that tell minerals apart
Color, luster, hardness, crystal habit, streak — the features geologists read first.
FreeThe Mohs hardness scale, made simple
From talc to diamond — what hardness means and how to test it with everyday objects.
FreeIgneous, sedimentary, metamorphic: the three rock types
How a rock forms is written in its texture — learn to read the three families.
FreeLook-alike minerals and how to tell them apart
Pyrite vs. gold, quartz vs. calcite — the classic confusions and the test that settles each.
FreeWhere to find rocks and minerals near you
Creek beds, road cuts, beaches, quarries — where good specimens turn up, and how to collect responsibly.
FreeClean and care for your mineral specimens
Some minerals love water, some dissolve in it — how to clean and store without ruining a specimen.
FreeBuild a mineral life list worth keeping
Photos, locality, date — habits that turn scattered scans into a real collection record.