Believe it or not there is a subtle, yet important difference between the terms ‘Rock’ and ‘Stone’. Though using them interchangeably is not some big faux pas, it is interesting to note they are definitionally different. ROCK - a rock is usual replete with its natural jagged edges and mass. Rocks vary in size dramatically - from the palm of your hand to mountain sized boulders. A single continuous mass of minerals and mineraloids make up rocks. A rock is typically what we find on a hiking trail. STONE - a stone is defined differently mostly by its shape, smoothness, and size. A stone is typically weathered by nature or human intervention till the surface has lost all protruding features. Stones can be large, but typically aren’t recognized as such when they are larger than human scale. A stone is typically what we find on the shore of a lake. Stones are used in the context of construction or decoration. From geology.in : “The key thing to note is that geologists use "rock" as a broader term to describe large masses of material that make up the Earth's crust, including mountains, plateaus, and cliffs.” Pretty cool right?

Hi Everyone, Check out our newest category, Rock Hounding Resources! This is a place to share anything you use to help rockhound, learn, or share info about rocks! Examples of things you can share: - YouTube channels like Elley Knows Rocks - Geology websites like geology.in - Reddit forums like r/whatisthisrock - Your own personal website! - Your favorite or your own crystal shop website! Thanks to one of our new members @Scott Drynan mentioning his use of YouTube to find cool rockhounding spots in his area, I realized we didnt have a place to share resources like this in the community. I encourage everyone to jump in and start sharing. Thats what this community is all about!

As an adult this was the first piece I actually dug up and found, instead of just a happenstance walk by. My dad lives in Kansas in a 1920 farm house. Out by the old water pump was the top of a crystal just poking through the dirt. Curious, I dug until I pulled out a huge slab. It split naturally and it was perfect for my sister and I to share.

Here are the four rocks that I took from the yard of my last house and loved them so much I brought them to my new house. If rocks find me and they're for playing with, I usually end up with complementary pairs, like here. I put my foot in the picture so you can get idea of scale. To me all four of them have big smiles. They seem to emanate a certain content hum, I think, because they're loved. When I pick them up I always smile. Often I use two at a time throwing them up in the air as I run, switching hands from the throwing to catching back and forth across my center line. I usually get into a rhythm of throwing them about 2-3 feet above my head and catching them on the soft side coming down from chest to tummy level to keep their momentum in the upswing to throw them back up, switching hands again. The small ones are for "easy days." The big ones I have to be careful as they're big. I can only just about palm them in my entire hand and fingers. So when I double up on a "hard day" throwing two of the big ones together I start slow and only throwing them about 1 foot above my head to ease into having somewhat dangerous projectiles flying around my head (and/or feet if I miss!) as I do a slow jog. The super fun of it all is that as the rocks and I get into sync together and start to move in a field of oneness, I can start to run faster and throw them higher. I only do these big rocks together when I run around in my own yard because if I use big rocks like this at the beach, there are too many distractions and it looks weird enough that I forebear. (I'm quite small and petite and those rocks are pretty big.) Often I play with just one of the big rocks going back and forth between my hands and sometimes using both hands if I'm running faster than a jog. I don't think of rocks as being able to "be happy" the way that we humans think of it, but I do get the sensation that they have an awareness that they are being thrown through time and space and vibe on it. They're special, having special rock experiences.

Share a pic! I know you guys have cool stuff…