Is this Unakite?
Look for a mottled mix of pink feldspar, green epidote, and clear or milky quartz. Unakite is altered granite and can turn up among Lake Michigan beach stones.
Three quick checks
Look for the full mineral mix
Look for pink feldspar and pistachio- to olive-green epidote mixed with clear, gray, or milky quartz. Wet the surface to make the colors easier to compare, then check its granular texture instead of relying on color alone.
-
Find pink and green together
Look for salmon-pink feldspar beside pistachio- to olive-green epidote in the same stone.
-
Look for pale quartz
White, gray, or translucent quartz often fills the spaces between the larger pink and green grains.
-
Check more than one face
The color balance changes across the stone. Turn it over and look for the same interlocking mineral texture.
Granite changed by heat and fluids
Unakite begins as granite. Hot, mineral-rich fluids alter part of the original feldspar into green epidote while pink feldspar and quartz remain, producing the rock's distinctive mottled color and granular texture.
Color alone is not enough Color alone is not enough. Compare the granular mix of pink feldspar, green epidote, and quartz; pieces with little or no pink feldspar may be epidote-rich rock rather than Unakite.
A durable stone with a distinctive mineral mix
- What it is
- Altered granitic rock
- Lake Michigan connection
- Can occur among Lake Michigan beach stones
- Main minerals
- Feldspar, epidote, quartz
- Where it turns up
- Among Lake Michigan beach stones
What would you like to do with it?
Keep comparing what you find
Use the Trading Post's growing online guides to compare patterns, color, and texture, then bring a favorite stone into the shop when you want a closer look.