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natural history page title
Identifying rocks, minerals and fossils

Introduction
What is a rock?
What is a mineral?
What is a fossil?
Rock, mineral or 
    fossil?

Rock key

     Sedimentary
     Rock colour 
         key

     Pale rock key
     Limestone
     Chalk
     Unknown 
        pale rock

     Dark rock key
     Clay
     Ironstone
     Coal
     Unknown 
        dark rock

    
    Igneous
    Metamorphic
    Unknown
Mineral key
Fossil key
Helpful books

  
Unknown dark sedimentary rock

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image of red mudstone with a large green fisheye. The fisheye was produced by the radioactive decay of an unknown mineral.

Your sedimentary rock is a bit of a puzzle! Try going back to the sedimentary key and trying the key for grains bigger than 0.5mm, or try the keys for igneous and metamorphic rocks. If you are still unable to identify your rock you could borrow a book from your local library, search the Virtual Store which features lots of rocks, or ask your local museum for help.