When approaching a panel for analysis, the RASI indexer should first look at the overall setting of the rock and its weathering. Scan over the rock face, looking at the general rock type,  followed by the major fractures, the overall condition of the core of the rock, and the relationship of the panel to the areas of weakness. All rocks have inherent weaknesses in different directions due to jointing patterns. These joints (or latent cracks) may be inherited from the cooling phase of lithification in igneous and metamorphic rocks or from tectonic stresses imposed during faulting. The joints manifest themselves as figures or fractures that are not connected to aspects like the bedding planes found in sedimentary rock.  Separate from the joints are the sorts of weaknesses that relate to the way the rock was deposited, such as bedding planes or cementation changes in sedimentary rocks. The make-up of the rock away from these fractures and weaknesses will also affect the stability of the rock itself.  The rock's hardness, mineralogical variability, and sedimentary consistency will impact the differential erosion of the panel at its very surface. This first component of RASI, in summary, examines the overall potential for erosion set by the types of inherent weaknesses in the host rock.
 

Fissures independent of stone lithification (from such processes as pressure release, calcrete wedging)
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Sandstone, Black Hills, Wyoming	Sandstone, central Utah	Granodiorite, southwest Arizona
Granodiorite, southern Nevada	Sandstone, central Wyoming	Sandstone, central Utah
Sandstone, Southeastern Colorado	Diorite, central Arizona	Sandstone, Black Hills, Wyoming
Basalt, Kaho'owe Island, Hawai'i	Sandstone, southeast Colorado	Schist, northern Portugal
Granite, central Arizona	Basalt, Mojave Desert, California	Sandstone, southeast Colorado

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Fissures dependent on lithification (created by such forms as bedding, foliations)
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Sandstone, Chevelon Canyon, Arizona	Sandstone, Chevelon Canyon, Arizona	Sandstone, Central Utah
Sandstone, central Wyoming	Sandstone, Chevelon Canyon, Arizona
Sandstone, southeast Colorado	Schist, northern Portugal	Sandstone, Pryor Mountains, Montana
Sandstone, southeast Colorado	Sandstone, Black Hills, Wyoming

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Changes in textural anomalies (bedding, cementation, foliation, banding, striping, concretions)

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Sandstone, Chevelon Canyon, Arizona	Sandstone, eastern Wyoming
Granodiorite, southern Nevada	Sandstone, southeast Colorado

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Rock Weakness (Moh's hardness tested at control surface of the panel, away from the rock art, not measured in the weathering rind but in the rock material itself). This is scored
3 - if a fingernail can scratch the rock
2-  if a penny can scratch the rock
1 - if a stainless steel knife can scratch the rock
0-  if quartz can scratch the rock
 
 

Sandstone, eastern Wyoming: the rock sandstone had a Moh's hardness of 5, reflecting both the quartz composition of the sandstone and the cementation.	Granodiorite, central Arizona: the rock had a Moh's hardness of between 6 and 7, reflecting the relatively fresh condition and an abundance of quartz	Basalt, Kaho'owe Island, Hawai'i: the rock had a Moh's hardness of between 4 and 5, reflecting prior extensive weathering under a soil cover
Sandstone, northern Arizona: the rock sandstone had a Moh's hardness of between 4 and 5, reflecting both the quartz composition of the sandstone and cementation.	Sandstone, northern Arizona: the rock sandstone had a Moh's hardness of about 5 reflecting both the quartz composition of the sandstone and cementation.

Dorn, R.I. and Cerveny, N.V. (2005) Atlas of Petroglyph Weathering Forms used in the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI). http://alliance.la.asu.edu/rockart/stabilityindex/RASIAtlas.html (originally posted April 1, 2005; last modified March 10, 2007).
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