How to Choose a Field Guide for Rocks and Minerals

You may be a rock hound if you pick up rocks on vacation as souvenirs, you have a rock paper weight on your desk, or if your flowerbed has a huge rock for a conversation piece. If you fit any of these, a field guide will help you identify your treasures.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Look for a guide with easy-to-read information. The "Eyewitness Handbook: Rocks and Minerals" is a user-friendly manual.

2. Choose a guide with clear photos or drawings with handy references about each picture such as the "National Audubon Society Field Guides for Rocks and Minerals" or the "Rocks and Minerals" (First Guides for Children).

3. Study information and decide whether it answers your questions. Would a younger person understand? Does the guide provide information on how the rock was formed to help determine possible locations?

4. Check out the guide's size and durability.

5. Decide if you want a field guide for a certain area, state, or region. Some publishers such as the "Falcon Guides" publish specialty guides on rocks for Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

6. Match the rock hound's level of experience. The "Simon and Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals" has excellent photos with clear descriptions of each rock and mineral for the "rock pup" on your list.

7. Try Peterson's "A Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals" for the more advanced rock hound.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the "3D Eyewitness: Rocks and Minerals" with its enclosed mirror to view the smallest of details of thirty different rocks or minerals.