Rocks and Minerals Word Search

About this puzzle

Rocks come in three families. Igneous rocks form from cooled magma or lava (granite, basalt, obsidian, pumice); sedimentary rocks form from layers of sediment pressed together (limestone, sandstone) and often hold fossils; and metamorphic rocks are changed by heat and pressure (marble). Minerals such as quartz, mica and feldspar are the building blocks, and crystals and geodes are where they become beautiful.

The default layout is Hard on a 15×15 grid. Easy, Medium and Hard each use their own checked layout of the same words, and every one can be printed in standard or large print on US Letter or A4.

Word notes

Granite

A speckled igneous rock made mostly of quartz, feldspar and mica, cooled slowly deep underground.

Basalt

A dark volcanic rock that makes up most of the ocean floor; it can cool into columns, as at the Giant's Causeway.

Marble

Limestone transformed by heat and pressure; sculptors have used it for thousands of years.

Quartz

One of the most common minerals in Earth's crust, hard enough to scratch glass.

Obsidian

Natural volcanic glass.

Fossil

The preserved remains or traces of ancient life, usually found in sedimentary rock.

Geode

A hollow rock lined with crystals.

Mica

A mineral that splits into thin, shiny, flexible sheets.

Pumice

A volcanic rock so full of air pockets it can float.

Try this after the puzzle

Sort the words into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, with minerals as a fourth group. If you have a few stones from a garden or beach, try to identify one using the list. Older students can draw the rock cycle, starting from MAGMA.

All 14 words

Granite · Basalt · Marble · Quartz · Obsidian · Limestone · Fossil · Crystal · Geode · Magma · Sandstone · Mica · Feldspar · Pumice