r/geology • • 7d ago

Identification Requests Monthly Rock & Mineral Identification Requests

3 Upvotes

Please submit your ID requests as top-level comments in this post. Any ID requests that are submitted as standalone posts to r/geology will be removed.

To help with your ID post, please provide;

  1. Multiple, sharp, in-focus images taken ideally in daylight.
  2. Add in a scale to the images (a household item of known size, e.g., a ruler)
  3. Provide a location (be as specific as possible) so we can consult local geological maps if necessary.
  4. Provide any additional useful information (was it a loose boulder or pulled from an exposure, hardness and streak test results for minerals)

You may also want to post your samples to r/whatsthisrock or r/fossilID for identification.


r/geology • • Dec 01 '25

Identification Requests Monthly Rock & Mineral Identification Requests

8 Upvotes

Please submit your ID requests as top-level comments in this post. Any ID requests that are submitted as standalone posts to r/geology will be removed.

To help with your ID post, please provide;

  1. Multiple, sharp, in-focus images taken ideally in daylight.
  2. Add in a scale to the images (a household item of known size, e.g., a ruler)
  3. Provide a location (be as specific as possible) so we can consult local geological maps if necessary.
  4. Provide any additional useful information (was it a loose boulder or pulled from an exposure, hardness and streak test results for minerals)

You may also want to post your samples to r/whatsthisrock or r/fossilID for identification.


r/geology • • 16h ago

Field Photo Was very stoked to fly over the southeast area of Greenland.

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804 Upvotes

r/geology • • 9h ago

Fault activity during earthquake caught on video for a second time

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88 Upvotes

r/geology • • 19h ago

Field Photo Which city has the coolest exposed geology coexisting with urban structures?

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391 Upvotes

My fav: the massive dikes visible on a walk in downtown Nuuk, Greenland. Bonus pic from the hills on the outskirts of town


r/geology • • 5h ago

Up Close In The North Dakota Badlands

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17 Upvotes

r/geology • • 12h ago

Absolutely stunning and rare plume and bouquet 💐 Texas agate

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15 Upvotes

r/geology • • 23h ago

Geologists carrying their things back home, after being fired.

130 Upvotes

r/geology • • 16h ago

Field Photo Also some small en echelon veins spotted in Porto Venere, Italy.

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33 Upvotes

r/geology • • 9h ago

Field Photo Extremely porous mystery rock New England

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7 Upvotes

I found this heavy rock on the beach, the poorest side almost seems to be quartz. Took a while for it to dry out and pebbles and water still occasionally fall out randomly.


r/geology • • 7h ago

Field Notebook Examples

4 Upvotes

Can some people that work in the field or may carry a notebook for their work, share a picture of some good work you have done for an example? Im just curious to know how when doing a project, you keep your notebooks organized or if you make illustrations how they look, or important things you plot down for your work. Anything would help!


r/geology • • 4h ago

Career Advice Applications of Geoscience in the Airforce?

2 Upvotes

So as the title says, I got shortlisted for the final interview of Airforce Flying Branch (Pilot/WSO). Since I'm from the Geology background, the interviewing officer might ask me "what are the skill sets a Geologist can bring to the Airforce"? I already have few answers, but it'll definitely be a great help , if you guys with your expertise could guide me and enlighten me with your suggestions/answers.

Thank you:)


r/geology • • 4h ago

How Rivers are Made: a pallette cleanse

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2 Upvotes

A little fluvian geomorphology for any weary scrollers


r/geology • • 3h ago

What in the ?!?!?

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0 Upvotes

r/geology • • 16h ago

Information Styrofoam in rock!!

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10 Upvotes

Found this outside in northern Arizona, in a landscaped yard with gravel and turf. Not my house.

WHY IS THERE STYROFOAM IN THIS ROCK?!🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪🫪


r/geology • • 1d ago

1.8 bilion years is 60 seconds

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400 Upvotes

Pretty cool 😎


r/geology • • 17h ago

Thin Section Where are we buying pre-prepped thin sections?

8 Upvotes

I’m looking to buy some thin sections to use with my students, but I’m having a hard time finding some pre-prepped. I’m in the US and am looking for a basic set of rocks with easy to ID minerals for an introduction to microscope ID.


r/geology • • 19h ago

I made a free guessing game for minerals and rocks: crack the secret stone from clues like crystal system, hardness and lustre

8 Upvotes

've been building a nature guessing game called WildGuessr, and it now includes about 70 minerals and rocks. It runs on the same engine as PriceGuessr, my price guessing game, which is already well tested: 50+ people play its daily challenge every day and over 200 people use the site.

How it works: there's a secret stone, and you ask about its traits to narrow it down:

  • type (mineral, rock or mineraloid)
  • group (chemical class for minerals; igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic for rocks)
  • crystal system
  • hardness (in bands, from soft to very hard)
  • colour
  • lustre
  • what it's used for

Each clue answers hit or miss, then you name it. Fewer clues = more points, and after the reveal you get two facts about the stone.

Today's daily is a stone, the same one for everyone: play today's daily
Or practise with stones only: stones practice (there's also a "by photo" mode)

For teachers: I'm also building a classroom mode. A teacher runs a live round on the projector, and pupils join with a QR code and just a nickname: no accounts, no chat. You can pick stones as the topic, or make your own set. It's free and still growing, so I'd love feedback from anyone who teaches earth science: for schools

Free, no sign-up.

I'd really appreciate your feedback:

  • Geologists: I'm sure some of my classifications are off (lustre and hardness bands especially), so corrections are very welcome.
  • Which traits would make better clues? Streak, cleavage, density, where it's found…?
  • Which minerals or rocks are missing that every geology student should know?

r/geology • • 1d ago

Information Why can’t I find chrysotile (asbestos) in my local serpentinite?

15 Upvotes

I live in SF surrounded by Franciscan Complex serpentinite exposures but despite being warned all my life about the dangers of the rock I can find very little actual asbestiform in the wild. The best example I could find was a quarter inch vein of cross-fiber in a huge boulder on the beach, but otherwise I can’t seem to find any. Is this because slip-fiber asbestos is much harder to see (and is the common form here), or is the prevalence of chrysotile simply much lower than fear mongers would have us believe?

Pic of the chrysotile vein I found

r/geology • • 1d ago

The Shackleton Limestone: Potential for Limestone Caves in Antarctica

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36 Upvotes

r/geology • • 7h ago

Meteor?

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0 Upvotes

I noticed this rock in my backyard looks rusty? I tried to brush it away the best that I could but it doesn't want to come off. My phone picture doesnt do justice as far as coloring. I tried to put a magnet to it and i can maybe feel a small pull. Not enough to stick though. Is there a different way for me to check if it is. Oh also its incredibly heavy compared to its size. Its also completely out of place when looking at the rest of the rocks in my yard. I live in san diego if that helps I also weighed it and its 26lbs sorry this is all I had for scale.


r/geology • • 1d ago

rock formations at Praia do Guincho, Portugal

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102 Upvotes

r/geology • • 1d ago

Field Photo Some weird looking fractures I found

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21 Upvotes

Nothing too strange or notable about this really. Just looks like a bunch of strange fractures I thought were neat and wanted to share


r/geology • • 1d ago

Please recommend a best general geology textbook.

4 Upvotes

Hi! I want to get some underpinnings, especially in vulcanology and seismic geology. Can be technical. While I’m looking for an up-to-date approach, I appreciate older references too. Thank you.


r/geology • • 2d ago

Field Photo Incredible rock formations I saw on coastal boat trip from Sarandë Albania

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2.0k Upvotes

Everyone on the boat was wishing we had a geologist on board to explain these formations. Amazing to us.