Boston Mineral Club

There are many valuable online sources of mineral collecting information. This page lists some that our club members have found to be particularly useful. Please report any broken links to BMC-webadmin@jerrycarter.org.

Mineral Reference Websites:

Mindat http://www.mindat.org/.

If you could access only one website for mineral information, this is the site you would want to use. Mindat provides a massive database covering pretty much every locality in the world and every mineral that’s been identified, extensive scientific information, discussion boards, the new minID identification system, news, links, and so on.

Gemdat http://www.gemdat.org/.

For those interested in gemstones specifically, this is the equivalent of Mindat in its breadth and depth.

Alphabetical Mineral Reference http://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/eps2//wisc/glossary2.html.

Mineral properties without photos.

Mineralogy Database http://webmineral.com/.

Mineral properties organized several different ways, few photos.

Minerals.net http://www.minerals.net/.

Along with many other resources, this site provides comprehensive alphabetical lists of mineral and gem species and information on each mineral and gem that is quite extensive but easier to digest than Mindat. (If you have page loading problems on the alphabetical pages, scroll down quite a ways and you’ll see the correct content.)

Mineral Structures http://ruby.colorado.edu/~smyth/min/minerals.html.

University of Colorado site with colorful perspective drawings of mineral crystal structures.

New Hampshire Mineral Species http://www.mindatnh.org/.

Tom Mortimer’s answer to the international Mindat site, this website aims to provide everything you’d want to know about New Hampshire localities and the minerals you can find there.



Map Websites:

TopoZone http://www.topozone.com/ (Now also accessible via Trails.com http://www.trails.com/)

USGS maps of the entire country at three different magnifications, but only small portions of the usual 7.5 by 15 minute maps purchasable from the government.

USGS Geographic Names Information System http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/.

Search engine for geographical features nationwide, producing portions of USGS maps, linkable to satellite photos of the same spot at different magnifications. See your own house from space.

UNH Library Government Information Dept. Historic USGS Maps of New England and New York http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm.

A growing archive of historical USGS maps of the Northeast from the late 1800s to the 1960s. The maps are listed by state and then broken down further by quads and towns. You can also click on any part of an outlined state map to bring up a list of maps available for the location you clicked.

Publications Websites:

Rocks & Minerals http://www.rocksandminerals.org/

For ordering subscriptions & back issues. It also provides a set of instructions for adding mineral species names to the dictionary on your word processor on the following page. http://www.rocksandminerals.org/supplement.php

The Mineralogical Record http://www.minrec.org/.

For ordering subscriptions, back issues and published books. Also for checking out old covers, and labels or reading a sample article or two.

American Mineralogisthttp://www.minsocam.org/AmMin/AmMin.html.

Journal of the Mineralogical Society of America. Abstracts of this academic periodical.

Bob’s Rock Shop http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/table.shtml.

This is a noncommercial website with featured articles, show reviews, and a well-organized link list.

Ed Rogers Rare & Out of Print Geoscience Books http://www.geology-books.com/.

Geoscience Books http://www.geosciencebooks.com/.

Mostly old and out of print rarities. A huge new selection each couple of months. Many important old publications can be found through dealers like these. 

Misc Resources

John Betts Fine Minerals Mineral & Educational Articles http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/articles.htm.

More than 20 helpful articles of general interest to the collector.

Glossary of Geologic Terms http://www.ge-at.iastate.edu/glossary-of-geologic-terms/.

A long alphabetical list of geology definitions.