close up of Banded Gneiss in the Chiwaukum Mountains

Banded Gneiss, Chiwaukum Mountains, Central Cascades

Rocks & Minerals

Originally Posted: November 2019
Updated: September 2025

A collection of photos showing the remarkable variety of patterns, textures, and colors created by rocks and minerals in the mountain environment.

Photo Gallery

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Chumstick Snag (Sandstone), Spromberg Canyon, Central Cascades

Volcanic Tuff Monster, Fifes Peaks, Southern Cascades

Jim At Deadhorse Balanced Rock

Split Boulder Rear At Canyon Creek

Split Boulder Front At Canyon Creek

Split Granite Boulder On Steamboat Rock

Porphyritic Andesite, Mt Thomson, Central Cascades

Porphyritic Andesite, Mt Thomson, Central Cascades

Granitic Cantaloupe From Pete Lake Area, Central Cascades

Angular Schist Monolith, Isolation Lake, North Cascades

Banded Gneiss, Chiwaukum Mountains, Central Cascades

Banded Gneiss, Chiwaukum Mountains, Central Cascades

Balanced Rock, Sherpa Peak, Central Cascades

Balanced Hoodoo, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ

Basalt Columns At Devils Woodpile, Cathedral Prov. Park, BC

Giant Granite Pika, Cathedral Prov Park, BC

A lone explorer walks up a tessellated sandstone swale at White Pocket in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona — Hiking up a tessellated sandstone swale at White Pocket

Tessellated Slab & Swale At White Pocket

Tessellated & Furrowed Slab At White Pocket

Mini Tessellated Texture At Hole-In-The-Rock

Tessellated Siltstone Slab, Tasmania

Tessellated Siltstone Slab, Tasmania

Tessellated Siltstone Slab, Tasmania

Striped & Textured Rock In Great West Amphitheater, UT

Rock Arch, Moorina Beach, Tasmania

Dunite Potato, Twin Sisters Range

Hoodoo Cluster On Superstition Ridge Near Ironview Peak

Three Wise Men Hoodoos At Devils Garden

Sandstone Hoodoos, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ

Bizarre Limestone & Siltstone Hoodoos Alongside the Queens Garden -- Peekaboo -- Navajo Figure 8 Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park — A Row Of Limestone/Siltstone Hoodoos Stands Above Queens Garden Trail

Super Coarse Monzonite, Joshua Tree NP

Lumpy Monzonite, Joshua Tree NP

Ingalls Peaks Peridotite

Serpentine Rind On Peridotite

Delicate Arch Neck Detail

Setting sunlight casts a warm glow on the orange sandstone of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park — Sunset warms the sandstone of Delicate Arch

Sandstone Beret In Chesler Park, UT

Grimface Tower At Base Of Grimface Mtn, Cathedral Prov Park

Black Jigsaw Veneer On Tan Sandstone, NV

Jointed Volcanic Rock On Old Snowy Mtn

Pyroclastic Pinnacle On Goat Rib

Warped Shale On Mt Meany

Weathered Sandstone, Zion Nat Park, UT

Eroded Conglomerate, Indian Head Peak, North-Central Cascades

Myriad Shoreline Terraces, Upper Snow Lake, Central Cascades

Banded Siltstone, Mt Seattle, Olympic Mountains

Holy Limestone In National Canyon

Pillow Basalt, Mt Stone, Olympic Mountains

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