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How to Identify the Rocks in a Picture With Heavy Crystals & Brown Crystals

Rocks form in hundreds of varieties, with broad-ranging differences that appear under varying pressures around the globe. It's how our land and seas appear as they do with so many lustrous and alluring possibilities. If you're trying to identify a certain mineral deposit with crystals, or quartz, forming inside it, there are a few ways to go about your quest. You may be able to identify the crystal in a lineup or just by looking closely at its virtues.

Things You'll Need

Illustrated listings of minerals
Magnifying glass

Instructions

- 1
  Learn what makes a crystal unique. One of six types of minerals, crystals are triclinic, which means they are flat, sharp and don't have any right angles. According to Mineral Matters, crystals have three axes, none equal to the others. It can be suspended in any kind of rock: sedimentary, volcanic or another metamorphic variety besides quartz.
- 2
  Analyze your crystal formation under the magnifying glass to determine if you're looking at something besides heavy or brown crystals. Make sure it meets the criteria for being a crystal, spelled out in Step 1. This may be more difficult if you're comparing it to a photo.
- 3
  Familiarize yourself with the other types of minerals to ensure your "crystals" are really crystals. Monoclinic, orthorhombic, hexagonal, isometric or tetragonal minerals are all fully described at the second Resources link.
- 4
  Navigate to the second Resources link, and scan through the 208 varieties of minerals. Try to find a crystal that looks like yours, which will have the name and other useful information displayed beside it.
- 5
  Look for your rock in the family breakdown at the first Resources link. Scroll down the Quartz Family to peruse the brown varieties of quartz, from agate to amethyst to Tiger's eye. Your rock could be any of those.

Rocks & Minerals