Guides
Identification & Collecting Guides
Browse by skill level and field task.
This is the main guide library for the site: beginner setup, field identification, rules, safety, and the practical mineralogy that helps you make better calls once you are outside.
Use this page for
Learn in the order that makes field sense
Start with beginner setup, move into identification and rules, then use the mineral cards when you need a faster reference.
Guides
10
longer walkthroughs for beginner trips, field ID, safety, and technique.
Mineral cards
44
quick specimen references when you need an answer faster.
Core orientation for first trips, first tools, and first decent decisions in the field.
What to look for when you are trying to separate common finds from the real thing.
Rules, etiquette, and trip habits that keep access open and people unhurt.
The underlying mineral structure and vocabulary that make field observations more useful.
Practical collecting, planning, and specimen-handling methods that matter once you are out there.
Guide shelves
Guide shelves
Browse the knowledge base by the kind of problem you are trying to solve in the field.
Getting Started
Core orientation for first trips, first tools, and first decent decisions in the field.
Identification
What to look for when you are trying to separate common finds from the real thing.
Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic: A Field Guide
A practical guide to the three rock types, with field clues, examples, and USGS-backed explanations of how each one forms.
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Using the Mohs Hardness Scale in the Field
A practical guide to scratch testing minerals with common household items. Faster and more reliable than you’d think.
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How to Identify Rocks and Minerals in the Field
A practical walkthrough of streak, luster, hardness, and cleavage tests you can do with a pocket knife and a piece of unglazed tile.
Read article →Safety & Ethics
Rules, etiquette, and trip habits that keep access open and people unhurt.
Rockhounding Ethics: Collecting Responsibly
A practical ethics guide for rockhounds — how to apply Leave No Trace, handle permission responsibly, limit site damage, and know when the right move is to leave material behind.
Read article →Rockhounding Safety: What Every Collector Should Know
From eye protection and proper hammering technique to desert hydration and mine hazards — stay safe in the field.
Read article →Mineralogy
The underlying mineral structure and vocabulary that make field observations more useful.
Techniques
Practical collecting, planning, and specimen-handling methods that matter once you are out there.
Field reference
Quick mineral cards
A tighter preview of the mineral library for the specimens you are most likely to double-check in the field.
Need the full library?
The minerals section holds the complete set of specimen cards, photos, and detail pages.
All mineralsQuartz
A complete guide to quartz - how to identify silicon dioxide in the field, how quartz forms, where it is found, and how to separate it from common lookalikes.
Quartz Crystals
A field guide to quartz crystals — how to identify crystal-form quartz, what good terminations look like, where quartz crystals form, and what separates crystal material from plain massive quartz.
Clear Quartz
A guide to clear quartz — how to identify colorless quartz crystals, what affects clarity, where clear quartz forms, and how collectors judge specimen quality.
Quartz Clusters
A practical guide to quartz clusters — how intergrown quartz crystals form, what makes a cluster attractive, and how they differ from single terminated points.
Loose Quartz
A field guide to loose quartz — what collectors mean by the term, how weathered free pieces differ from in-place crystal growth, and when surface quartz is still worth your time.
Double-Terminated Quartz
A practical guide to double-terminated quartz — how to recognize natural terminations at both ends, how the habit forms, and what makes these crystals so desirable to collectors.
Matrix Crystals
A guide to matrix crystals — what the term means, why many collectors value attached specimens, and how matrix changes the way a crystal is judged and prepared.
Chalcedony
A practical guide to chalcedony — how to identify cryptocrystalline quartz, how it differs from agate and jasper, and where collectors typically encounter it.
Ready to put this knowledge to use?
Find a site, grab your gear, and go. The best way to learn is in the field.