Feldspar harder than glass w/ Cleavage Two directions good, near 90°

Plagiocase harder than glass w/ Cleavage Two directions good, near 90° striations
Potassium Feldspar harder than glass w/ Cleavage Two directions good, near 90° pink
Pyroxene harder than glass w/ Cleavage Two directions fair, at 90° Dark green/blk
Amphibole harder than glass w/ Cleavage Two directions excel, nt nr 90° Dark green/blk
Olivine harder than glass w/o Cleavage Vitreous luster Olive grn/brwn
Garnet harder than glass w/o Cleavage Vitreous luster Reddish brown
Quartz harder than glass w/o Cleavage Vitreous luster light-colored
Pyrite harder than glass w/o Cleavage Metallic Luster Bright yellow
Serpentine harder than glass w/o Cleavage Waxy Luster Mottl’d grn/blk
Clay Group softer than glass w/o Cleavage Earthy luster
Mica softer than glass w/ Cleavage One direction Flexible sheets
Muscovite Mica softer than glass w/ Cleavage Clear/white
Biotite Mica softer than glass w/ Cleavage Blk/dark brown
Halite softer than glass w/ Cleavage Three directions 90
Calcite softer than glass w/ Cleavage Three directions Not near 90 effervesce
Dolomite softer than glass w/ Cleavage Three directions Not near 90 Effer, pulvrs’d
Obsidian Glassy
Pumice Frothy appearance
Volcanic Breccia Angular fragments of rock embedded in a volcanic-derived matrix
Pegmatite interlocking, very coarse-grained minerals
Granite entirely coarse-grain’d Quartz
Peridotite entirely coarse-grain’d Qtz, fld absent ultramafic
Gabbro entirely coarse-grain’d less than 50% feldspar and no quartz
Diorite entirely coarse-grain’d 30% to 60% feldspar (and no quartz)
Rhyolite entirely fine-grained small grains of quartz
Basalt entirely fine-grained predominantly of ferromagnesian minerals
Vesicular Basalt entirely fine-grained Some vesicles
Scoria entirely fine-grained Mostly vesicles
Andesite entirely fine-grained white or gray feldspar and ferromagnesian minerals (but no quartz)
Dolomite When powdered, effervesces
Breccia No effervescence Clastic Angular grains
Conglomerate No effervescence Clastic Rounded grains
Sandstone No effervescence Clastic 1/16-2mm
Quartz Sandstone No effervescence Clastic 1/16-2mm 90% quartz
Arkose No effervescence Clastic 1/16-2mm 25% feldspar
Lithic sandstone No effervescence Clastic 1/16-2mm 25% fragments
Graywacke No effervescence Clastic 1/16-2mm 15% matrix
Siltstone No effervescence Clastic >1/16mm Visible grains
Shale No effervescence Clastic >1/16mm Too small Fissile
Mudstone No effervescence Clastic >1/16mm Too small blocky
Gypsum No effervescence Crystalline fine to coarse
No effervescence Crystalline
Salt Dissolve, H2O
No effervescence
Chert Hard to deter. conchoidal
No effervescence
Flint Hard to deter. dark
No effervescence
Shale Hard to deter. Breaks into flat chips
No effervescence
Coal Hard to deter. readily broken, soils fingers
Limestone effervesces
Bioclastic Limestone effervesces clastic texture, grains are whole or broken fossils
Coquina effervesces Recognizable shells
Chalk effervesces powdery
Oolitic Limestone effervesces grains are small spheres
Travertine effervesces coarsely crystalline, no pore space, often contains different-colored

Quartzite nonfoliated quartz

Marble nonfoliated interlocking coarse grains of calcite
Hornfels nonfoliated dense, dark mass of grains
Slate foliated very fine-grained and split into sheet-like slabs
Phyllite foliated silky sheen but otherwise appear similar to slate
Schist foliated needle-like minerals
Mica Schist foliated needle-like minerals Mica
Garnet Mica Schist foliated needle-like minerals garnet
Hornblende Schist foliated needle-like minerals hornblende
Talc Schist (soapstone) foliated needle-like minerals talc
Gneiss foliated dark and light minerals found in separate lenses or layers