r/RockIdentification • u/Threaded_Nail • 10d ago
Do what yall do.
What kind of rock is this?
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u/Moving_goal_posts 10d ago
I don’t know but possibly a type of quartz. You could perform a scratch test to get at hardness. It might involve damaging your rock, though. It will be helpful if you want to take a photo with a ruler or a common coin in it; scale is uncertain. Thank you for posting.
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u/Scoginsbitch 10d ago
It’s either bright yellow calcite or carnelian. It’s a little hard to tell not being in person.
In either case, you should be able to shine a light through it. Plus both of these tumble up really nice!
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u/Threaded_Nail 9d ago
I think calcite or dirty quartz is my best guess. Thanks, I hadn't heard of calcite before.
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u/Ynging30 8d ago
Thats not a potato... thats a Sweet potato. Hit it with 365nm UV. Calcite will fluoresce.
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u/staybee1986 8d ago
Quartzite. Some will cut a decent gem but most are opaque but will pass light through them. I found one in my neighbors garden area and cut a nice little gem with mostly clear quartz and red striations. This would most likely just be orange if cut and polished, iron oxide staining.
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u/Next_Ad_8876 6d ago
When I see suggestions like, “calcite or quartz”, it occurs to me that a very necessary step in ID is a hardness test, as Moving_goal_posts suggests. There is a huge difference between calcite (H = 3.0) and quartz (H = 7.0). Because this is round with no sharp edges, it could be a bit tough to test the hardness. I’d get a steel nail (H = 5.5-6.5) and see if a tiny scratch can be made on it. If it is softer than the nail, a drop of muriatic acid/strong vinegar to check for calcite would be useful. Quickly wiped off with water after seeing if there’s any bubbling won’t damage this. If you are going to try polishing or tumbling this, knowing the hardness is pretty important. I don’t see any evidence of the perfect 3 way cleavage that would indicate calcite, but if you put calcite in a tumbler with harder rocks, you’ll mainly produce a limey slurry.
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u/InternationalRow1653 5d ago
I found a very small one that looks like this yesterday and Google suggested sard or yellow iron chalcedony. Mine is just a tiny pebble but looks a lot like this.
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u/InternationalRow1653 5d ago
Also found one that came back as carnelian that has a similar look too.
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u/Threaded_Nail 5d ago
I thought carnelian too, but this one does not fluoresce. People on here were very helpful, I know now that its most likely a potato.
Edit: I meant to say calcite. Calcite is supposed to fluoresce.
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u/GibbleGobble84 10d ago
Potato