Most rocks on the earth are made from eight elements. These elements combine to make hundreds of types of rocks.
Most people do not know where to start as there are hundreds of collectible rock types. We have compiled a guide about cool rocks and minerals to collect.
You can initiate your search by collecting these rocks and minerals and expand your collection later when you have more experience.
10 of the Best Cool Rocks to Collect
Some experts recommend that you start collecting cool rocks easily available in your area. It is a good recommendation if your area has cool rocks.
We suggest that you collect rocks that look different as it will give you the motivation to expand your collection. It is better to collect the rocks on the list because they are worth showing.
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Geodes
Rock collectors can never complete their collection without one high-quality geode. It is an excellent rock to display in the front of your rock collection.
You should find geodes with larger voids and high-quality crystals. Many types of crystals cal fill the void in the geodes. Most collectors look for purple quartz in the geodes.
It can give a mesmerizing look to the geodes. You need to learn how to identify the geodes because they appear like regular rocks on the surface. You need to crack the geodes to look at their beauty.
You can get special tools to cut the rocks from the middle point to find a perfect geode. Finding an exceptional geode is the priority of all rock collectors. Read what gifts rock collectors will love to have.
You should also look to find rocks with high-quality purple crystals for your collection.
Thunder Eggs
It is a perfect rock to collect because of its aesthetic appeal. Some people confuse it with geodes because it has a minerals-filled center void. Jesper and quartz are abundant minerals that fill the thundereggs cavity.
It is different from geodes because the mineral fills the cavity completely. In geodes, the center of rock has some crystals. You can display it after you cut it in half.
Tektites
You can keep this rock in your collection if you love rare things. These rocks form when a meteor hits the earth with earth melting heat.
The melted parts of the earth’s surface spread in the air and cool quickly. As the melted mass cools down quickly, it turns to shiny small shiny rocks of irregular shape.
You cannot find them near your home because it is available at a few sites in the world. Most of these sites do not allow people to come there without any purpose.
You can ask someone to help you get to one of the fields or buy these from a rock shop. You may have to pay a high price for these rocks because they are rare.
Granite
Some people think that you should not add granite to your rock collection because it is available everywhere. Please use it to make kitchen shelves. There are mountains made of granite.
We want to add granite to this list because there are many varieties of this rock. You can add granite with rare mineral composition. You can also collect this rock with a particular color pattern.
You can start your collection with granite because it is easy to get it. There is no need to spend more money because you can get it at a low price.
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Oolitic Limestone
Most people collect these stones because of their peculiar appearance. These are the sedimentary rocks that you can find near the beaches. You can identify this rock by several small holes in the stone.
You can look for an area with limestone to find these rocks. You can find them in most countries. They are made of calcium carbonate precipitation.
Conglomerate
It is a combination of many rocks in one piece. It forms when the water exerts an abrasive force on the rocks to convert them into small pieces. These pieces can accumulate in one place.
When these pieces stay together for a long time, quartz can replace the sediments between the rocks to make a strong bond. You need to find a mass of small rocks firmly attached with quartz or calcite.
These rocks are available in every country. You can go near the river and find cool smooth and rounded rocks. Most rock collectors have a large piece of this rock.
Obsidian
These are the igneous rocks that form when lava cools rapidly after it comes out of the volcano. You can find these rocks at many places on earth that had volcanic activity in the past.
As most parts of the world had volcanos at some point, you can find them near your home also. You can identify them by the black color and shiny surface.
You should handle it with care because it can have many sharp edges. You can also find it in different shades of red. You can keep them in your collection after you carve them in the shape of an arrowhead or a knife.
Pumice
It is a low-density rock with some excellent uses. You can keep this rock in your collection or use it to scrub your feet. It is the only rick in the world that floats on water.
It is due to the low density and trapped air in the air pockets. This rock forms during an intense volcanic eruption. You can find it in every country.
It is available in most rock shops because it has many healthcare benefits. Designers also use it to make lightweight concrete. You can let your children play with it as they can learn from this water-floating rock.
Gastroliths
The name of this rock gives information about its properties. Any rocks that go into the animal’s stomach to digest food are known as gastrolith. Gastolith rocks have a round shape without the polishing process.
Animals eat these rocks for digestion. These rocks will grind stuff in the animal’s stomach using the stomach as a natural tumbler.
It can produce smooth rocks with excellent quality. You can get different color rocks when you try to find gastroliths because animals can eat many rocks to digest things.
Lapis Lazuli
Most people think that it is a mineral because of its blue color. It is hard to find blue color rocks because collectors hunt these rocks. They will collect all the pieces of this rock when they find them.
It is blue due to the blue mineral part. It has a high quantity of lazurite that give it a blue color. This rock can also have pyrites as an impurity.
If you get this rock, you can place it in the tumbler and display it with the mineral collection. People polish this rock and make jewelry from it.
10 of the Most Beautiful Minerals to Collect
If you have a chance to collect a rock or a mineral, it is better to choose minerals because they have high value and better luster.
Most people like to collect the minerals because it takes more effort to collect the minerals. You may need to go to a distant location to collect these.
People collect minerals o sell them commercially because they have many excellent properties.
Rose Rock
The rose rock is famous because of its rose-like appearance. Rose rock is not the mineral name of this substance. It is known as barite.
People call this mineral by this name because it takes the rose form. You can find hundreds of specimens in the area where these minerals occur.
People like to scroll through many pieces to find a perfect rose-like rock. You can go to lakes in the areas with an abundance of this mineral.
You will find many specimens on the ground at the shore. You can get them in reddish to brown color.
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Fulgurite
People like to collect some mineraloids in their mineral collections as fulgurite forms when lightning strikes the ground. It is not a true mineral because it lacks one of the mineral properties.
It does not have a sold structure. You will get it in the form of loosely attached clay. It is a perfect sample in your collection to show the power of nature.
Tourmaline
This mineral is a favorite for all the mineral and gemstone collectors. People like it because of its translucent appearance and vibrant colors.
You can find this mineral in many shades as it depends on the type of impurity present in the mineral. Gemstone collectors use it in jewelry due to high demand.
Rock collectors also add it to their collection due to its rarity. People like to keep a tourmaline due to their rare colors.
Ulexite
People may think that you hold a piece of glass if you have it in your collection. Ulexite is uncommon in some people’s collections because they do not value this mineral.
You may have to tell people that it is not an ugly piece of glass. The light-transmitting properties of the ulexite make it suitable for collection.
You can show it to your friends and ask what it is. When they answer glass, you can tell them that it is a peculiar rock.
Quartz
Some collectors do not keep quartz in their collection because it is not rare. It is the second most abundant mineral on the earth’s surface. It means that you can find quartz in every corner.
You can find some quartz crystals in your backyard also. Some collectors like the idea of keeping rare color quartz in their collection.
They keep purple quartz because it has an element of rarity. Smoke quartz and amethyst are the choices of mineral collectors.
Peridot
It is a green mineral due to its iron content. People have been using it in many ancient civilizations for its beauty. You can find them in an area with volcanic activity.
You can get it in the form of crystals attached to a base rock. Some varieties of this mineral have yellow color also.
You can go to a place with volcanic activity to find it. It is a rare mineral because it forms in the deep parts of the earth’s surface.
Magnetite
This mineral has magnetic properties, as indicated by the name. You can find this mineral all over the world. It is abundant in the deep cave. People find it during the mining process.
It is easy to find an ordinary-looking specimen in a mine. If you want to look for octahedral crystals, you need to spend more time. You can get it in many shades.
Silver and black are the shades of magnetite. It is fun to show people that your mineral can feel the magnetic force.
You may not observe a heavy magnetic activity as it can only move a little if you place iron nearby and hang it with a string.
Agate and Jasper
Many of us keep these quartz crystals in our mineral collection because of the wave patterns. The wave-like lines in these crystals are perfect for collectors.
You can identify jasper due to its opaque appearance. The agate is usually translucent. You can put them in your rock tumbler before display to bring out their beauty.
Opal
Some do not classify opals as in the mineral class because it does not have all four properties of the minerals. Opals consist of amorphous silica.
All minerals should have a crystalline form. It is not the case with the opals. People keep it in their mineral collection because of its mesmerizing look.
Many collectors try to include high-quality opal in their collections. It increases the collection’s worth as opals are one of the most demanded mineraloids.
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Fluorite
This mineral consists of calcium fluoride crystals. People classify them in the class of halite minerals due to fluoride. You can get it in different shades of purple and blue.
They may produce sparkling activity if you place them in UV light. People find them in the crystal veins as it forms large crystals.
High-quality crystals become part of jewelry. The impure mineral goes to the industries for its chemical applications.