Taking into account the Coulomb and exchange forces, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and lateral force microscopy (LFM) simulations were performed for a Si(OH)(4) tip and a cleaved mica surface under planer two-dimensional periodic boundary conditions. Imaging of the individual oxygen atoms in hexagonal oxygen rings and/or K+ ions on a cleaved mica surface strongly depended on the tip orientation and the applied force. Experimentally obtained AFM images of cleaved mica surfaces were interpreted in terms of the present simulation results.