Alaskan Rock Types 101

These are various rock types that we have found throughout Alaska. Some are more rare to find here then others.

Rarity guide:

Common - We can find a fair amount of this material in our search areas, some more then others. Multiple areas to find this.

Limited - We can find a decent amount at the source, but there is only a tiny area to find it, or it is hard to find an amount in general. The material may be close to being mined out.

Mined out - What we have in stock may be all that's available

Remote - We might wish we could get more every day, but if you seen where this was located, we can only get to it on few occasions, sometimes only with helicopter!

Rare - We have seen it only a few times, or its the only time we have found anything like it.

Jasper - Common
Comes in various colors, typically in red. Some has a lot of pyrite included.


Obsidian - Limited

We find this in many areas, some devitrification allows other material to grow in it usually while maintaining glassy areas throughout. Comes in mostly black to green, but can have other colors.

Petrified Wood - Common

Our petrified wood is usually in grayscale colors. An example like this photo with clear wood grain features after polishing is rare.

Even more rare is agatized petrified wood. Only a few examples have been found.

Green Agates - Limited, Remote

These agates are at a semi-remote location, often small but can weight a lot as well if one is lucky.

Pink Agates - Limited, Remote

Pink agates are becoming harder to find even being at a remote location. They often have chalcedony bubbles incorporated with them.

Thunder Eggs - Remote

These thunder eggs come in various colors, there are many locations they can be found, if you have a helicopter.

Fossil Coral - Remote

Can be found in a few different areas, usually soft and gives an strong smell of crude oil when working, even with a mask! Normally I need several air brakes when working with this material.

Rhyolite - Common

One of the most common stones to be found, often confused with sandstone. Comes in a lot of colors, but brown and grey are the most common colors.

Butterscotch Jasper -Common

Got its name due to being the color of butterscotch. quite easy to find in highly silicated forms, rarely has other colors mixed with it.

Epidote (Green) - Common

Epidote is the easiest rock to find. Rare to find it in crystal formation.

Amber- Limited

A few places amber can be found, mostly in tiny fragments due to our harsh winters. Pieces larger then a 1/4 inch are rare

Thunder Egg Rhyolite outer parts - Limited

This material comes in all sorts of colors and shapes. Hardness varies and may or may not contain baby thunder eggs.

Actinolite - Limited

This material is usually found around where Serpintine is found. The crystal shards vary in size, most are in shards that are only a couple mm.

Corundum - Rare

Corundum we find has a few pale blue and purple coloring. Usually small in size at about 1/4 inch.

Septarian Nodule - Limited

These aren't usually as nice as in other countries, but we have them.

Fossils in Marble - Limited

A fairly unique combination, the base marble rock has a verity of colors.

Chrysanthemum Stone - Limited

This stone gets its name due to the fact it looks like Chrysanthemum flowers.

Ammonite - Limited

Our ammonites can be quite large. When cut like this one, they may sometimes have surprises. Many of them have the original shell like most shell fossils.

Earthy Jasper - Limited

This stone is usually of interesting patterns with earthy colors.

Geodes - Limited

Many of our large geodes have various colors of agates surrounding the crystals.

Spirit Stones - Limited

These Spirit Stones come from the sea. they are comprised of ocean silt that over time grows around a grain of sand or small pebble. These concretions are some of the most laborious materials to attempt to acquire.

Moss Agate - Rare

Moss agate is truly a rare find in AK, we have only found a couple of pieces that can classify as moss agate.

Jasp-agate - Common

Jasp-agates are just a mixture of jasper and agate found together in the same stone. This Jasp-agate is special as it is only accessible via helicopter.

Sedimentary copper - Mined out

Sedimentary copper is Calcopyrite that has found its way into sedimentary stone.

Calcopyrite - Common

Calcopyrite is a mineral that can be found in many places. While most of the examples may not be as stunning as this example, it will always have a yellow color dependent on percent of metals included.

Heulandite - Limited

Our Heulandite is often found in orange colors but can also be found in pink color. Its usually associated with Orange Calcite.

Orbicular Rhyolite - Common

This is always a fun find. Not as hard as jasper or agate, but comes near thunder-egg beds. If severely weathered, perfect orbs can pop out of this material.

Pyrite - Common

Pyrite, one of the most common silver metaloids that can be found. May come associated with different host minerals, green Epidote is common.