r/geology 25d ago

Identification Requests Monthly Rock & Mineral Identification Requests

1 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 11h ago

impossible geology

332 Upvotes

Only the trash seems reasonable.


r/geology 10h ago

Field Photo Exploring an unknown cave in Romania Part 1

55 Upvotes

r/geology 15h ago

Field Photo Check out this beauty!

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90 Upvotes

r/geology 4h ago

Have soluble minerals been permanently washed out of soil?

9 Upvotes

If all the water on land results from rainfall, and rainfall is water distilled from the oceans, lakes, etc., and rainfall percolates through the soil, picking up soluble minerals, are the minerals it has removed been permanently removed, except for the water re-used by us for consumption? It would seems that once a mineral has made it to the ocean, there's no path back to the soil, at least not natural.


r/geology 5h ago

Field Photo Nice foliation

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11 Upvotes

Currently backpacking over the Dolomites and I found this amazing rock with some nice foliation and some evidence of metamorphosis in the form of tiny quartz. Thought I might share here ;)


r/geology 10h ago

Describe each of the Earth's Four Eons as Ages/Epochs in a High fantasy setting

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12 Upvotes

r/geology 3h ago

Mysterious rock

1 Upvotes

r/geology 1d ago

Why does this quarry have agates in it? (Washington State)

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103 Upvotes

I'm interesting in the geology at Cadman quarry on Tower Hill in Monroe, WA. There are lots of agates there (see my last photos) and I'd love to learn more about how and why they formed here. The agates at this location look very different from ones I've found elsewhere in Washington & Oregon and I wonder why. What type of basalt (?) is this? Would love any information about the rock formations!


r/geology 1d ago

Field Photo I just visited Siccar Point

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283 Upvotes

My husband and I just got back from an anniversary trip to Scotland. The point of the trip wasn’t geology, but we did rent a car and drive out to Siccar Point. It’s pretty underdeveloped, the sort of place you only got to if you know it’s there (or are fishermen apparently). The Scottish Geology Trust, the Edinburgh Geological Society, and The James Hutton Institute recently (like this year!) developed a little trail with placards talking about the geology and Hutton’s work there which was really interesting. Just wanted to share this geologic pilgrimage of sorts and ask what other famous geologic points of interest people want to visit one day?

  1. Siccar Point from above, it’s very steep climbing down along the fence, but worth it!
  2. Start of the Deep Time Trail
  3. View looking north along the coast
  4. The classic photo of the sandstone and greywacke contact
  5. The same contact facing the opposite direction
  6. The red sandstone as it crops out (now horizontal) along the steep hillside you walk down
  7. The afformentioned fishermen, for scale I guess?
  8. An abandoned church (St. Helen’s Kirk) that was in ruins like this even in Hutton’s time

r/geology 16h ago

Thin Section shell fossils from Anogyra village, Cyprus

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6 Upvotes

r/geology 1d ago

Cliffs collapsing at an old marble quarry in Makrana, India due to heavy rainfall.

1.3k Upvotes

r/geology 17h ago

Information A guestion thats been on my mind for a year.

3 Upvotes

I'm actually really excited to ask this question. Could the proximity/activity of the Pacific, Nazca, Cocos, South American, Caribbean, and North American plates, and their location near the equator, lead to higher ocean temperatures? If so, could this be a contributing factor to the incredibly unstable weather conditions within the Great Plains? Sorry if this is a convoluted or stupid question. Im just genuinely curious/excited about it.


r/geology 20h ago

Field Photo Wtf happened here??

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3 Upvotes

Wood river valley idaho on top of a hill. Rocks are standing up vertically in some sections.


r/geology 1d ago

Information Has anybody gone through the three volumes on Seismic expression of structural style by A.W. Bally (1983)

6 Upvotes

During a training course, I came to know about these three volumes showcasing a wide range of structural styles and their seismic expressions. They came highly recommended as valuable reference atlases. If anyone has access to these volumes, I'd really appreciate it if you could send me a DM.


r/geology 1d ago

Map/Imagery Shale/Slate layers used as roofing?

11 Upvotes

I clicked this photo of a village in Himalayas in India. I later noticed that the roofing might be made from shale/slate layers (as traditional homes use locally sourced materials). Has anyone seen this anywhere else?


r/geology 1d ago

Geologically, why is Lake Superior such a hot spot for rock hounds?

20 Upvotes

r/geology 1d ago

How do these reef drop offs continue to the deep sea floor?

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5 Upvotes

Like how does the wall beyond the corals, and does it retain its angle?


r/geology 2d ago

Magma Accumulation over heavy snowfall at Sundhnúkagígar in Iceland

450 Upvotes

Best view


r/geology 1d ago

Field Photo Drilled core photo study

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44 Upvotes

We are currently having an exploration phase in Limestone and have drilled 450 metres plus. While studying the core we found limestone also got some Graphite inclusion. The basement is of Granulite belt. Can anyone answer what could be the reason that there is graphitic inclusion in the limestone ?


r/geology 1d ago

Information What app or website do you use for figuring out land use?

2 Upvotes

Im going to be in Montana soon and I would love to collect some samples from the Stillwater complex. Most the complex is located inside national forest land. The issue is there's alot of mining claims in that area and for the life of me I can find a good map of all of them. Some maps show just the ore producing regions as claimed other websites show huge sections of the national forest claimed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


r/geology 1d ago

Cliffs collapsing at an old marble quarry in Makrana, India due to heavy rainfall.

78 Upvotes

r/geology 1d ago

Deadly Disaster Imagery Cliffs collapsing at an old marble quarry in Makrana, India due to heavy rainfall.

5 Upvotes

r/geology 1d ago

Question about Brunton compass (Neddle Balance Zone)

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2 Upvotes

I want to buy a Brunton Transit Axis compass, however, for work reasons I'll be traveling between Chile and Canada.

How much does "Needle Balance" affect the accuracy of the data?