Identification Beryl (Aquamarine and Emerald) Identification Sheet The beryllium silicate behind emerald, aquamarine, and morganite: long hexagonal prisms, harder than quartz, in pegmatites.
Identification Talc Identification Sheet The Mohs 1 anchor at the bottom of the scale: so soft a fingernail scratches it, with a greasy, soapy feel no other common mineral shares.
Identification Halite (Rock Salt) Identification Sheet Common rock salt: cubic crystals, perfect cubic cleavage, and the only identification sheet where the taste test is the approved test.
Identification Topaz Identification Sheet The Mohs 8 reference mineral: hard enough to scratch quartz, with perfect basal cleavage and striated prismatic crystals.
Identification Selenite (Gypsum) Identification Sheet A very soft sulfate you can scratch with a fingernail, forming clear bladed crystals, satin spar, and desert roses.
Identification Rhodochrosite Identification Sheet Colorado's rose-pink state mineral: a manganese carbonate identified by color, low hardness, rhombohedral cleavage, and a warm-acid react…
Identification Onyx Identification Sheet A banded chalcedony with a parallel-layered structure, a hardness that outlasts most imposters, and — in this particular library — a name…
Confectionery Geology Pop Rocks (Pressurized Vesicular Sucrose) Identification Sheet A vesicular carbonated sugar rock exhibiting spontaneous exothermic dissolution and audible degassing upon contact with moisture — first …
Confectionery Geology Rock Candy (Sucrose Crystal) Identification Sheet A monocrystalline or polycrystalline sucrose formation exhibiting exceptional optical clarity and notable solubility in aqueous environme…
Identification Olivine (Peridot) Identification Sheet The green mineral that makes up much of the Earth's mantle — and surfaces as gemstone peridot when conditions align.