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Neighborhood Rocks                                     Search this Site

Names for Common Rocks

Photo: Common rocks from our neighborhood. Click on a rock to learn more about it.

On this page we show you the most common rocks that we find in the yards, gardens, streets, and parking lots near our home.  (Many of these rocks can be bought by-the-bag at hardware and discount stores.)

Once you know a rock's name, you can learn more by clicking on its picture or name. 
  

To get started, look at the color of the rock.  Is it:

White or light gray
Dark gray or black
Red or pink or rusty looking
Brown, tan, or yellowish
   

White or light gray

White Marble
Mostly bright white
Made of medium-sized crystals that glitter in sunlight.
You can scratch it with a nail or knife.
  
Dolostone
Mostly light gray
Made mostly of small-sized crystals that may or may not glitter in sunlight.
You can scratch it with a nail or knife.
    
White Chert
Mostly white, sometimes chalky looking or smooth
Broken edges may be scalloped or sharp.
Nail doesn't scratch it (but may leave a dark line).
     
Quartzite pebbles
White (also yellowish or light brown)
Can see large sand grains -- sometimes crumbly.
Nail doesn't scratch it (but may leave a dark line).
    

     No match here?   See more kinds of white and light gray rocks.  

                                                TOP of this page
  
  

Dark gray or black

Slate
Dark gray, looks silky in the sun.
Breaks into mostly flat pieces.
   
Scoria (type of Basalt)
Black or reddish.
Lots of rounded bubble holes.
Doesn't float in water.
   
   Coal
Black
Either smooth and shiny, or dull and crumbly
Draws a black line if you scrape it on the sidewalk.
    

     No match here?   See more kinds of black and dark gray rocks.

                                                TOP of this page
  
  

Red or pink or rusty looking

Scoria (a type of Basalt)
Reddish or black
Lots of bubble holes
Doesn't float in water.
  
Pink Quartzite
Pink
If you look closely, you may see some pieces are made of sand-sized grains.
  
Quartz rock
Most pieces stained rusty red or yellowish, or coated with rusty-red powder.
If you look closely, you'll see small, pointy crystals and thinly layered rock.

     No match here?   See more kinds of red, pink, and rusty-looking rocks.

                                                TOP of this page
  
  

Brown, tan, or yellowish

Brown Chert
Mostly brown, but mixed with cream and darker colors.
Some sides look really smooth, but freshly broken edges may be sharp!
Nail doesn't scratch it (but may leave a dark line).
  
Quartzite pebbles
Brownish, yellowish, or white
Can see large sand grains in some pieces -- sometimes crumbly.
Nail doesn't scratch it (but may leave a dark line).
  
Brown Quartzite pebbles
Brownish, tan, white, or reddish
Outside very rounded and smooth
Broken edges look glassy and may be sharp.
Nail doesn't scratch it (but may leave a dark line).

     No match here?   See more kinds of brown, tan, and yellowish rocks.

                                                TOP of this page
  
  

If you didn't find your rock yet, 
try one of these pages:

More kinds of gravel
If you have a rock with fresh-looking sides, you can go here to find its name.  (This page shows every kind of gravel found near our home.)
  
Rounded pebbles
If you have a rounded pebble from a beach or river gravel, you may have to go to this page to find its name.

 


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Copyright 2001 Eric D. Gyllenhaal                                              Search this Site
Webmaster@SaltTheSandbox.org

Neighborhood Rocks is part of the Salt the Sandbox Web. 
For more information visit the Salt the Sandbox home page.

This page was created on March 12, 2001, and it was last updated on July 27, 2002.