Mark Real J.

Jubilo
CE - 5

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks have been modified by heat, pressure, and chemical processes, usually
while buried deep below Earth's surface.

Foliated metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, phyllite, schist, and slate have a layered or banded
appearance that is produced by exposure to heat and directed pressure.
Non-foliated metamorphic rocks such as hornfels, marble, quartzite, and novaculite do not
have a layered or banded appearance.

Gneiss is a foliated metamorphic rock that has a banded appearance and is made up of granular
mineral grains.

Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that is made up mainly of very fine-grained mica.

Schist is a metamorphic rock with well-developed foliation.

Slate is a foliated metamorphic rock that is formed through the metamorphism of shale.

Amphibolite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that forms through recrystallization under

conditions of high viscosity and directed pressure.

Hornfels is a fine-grained nonfoliated metamorphic rock with no specific composition.

Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced from the metamorphism of

limestone or dolostone.

Novaculite is a dense, hard, fine-grained, siliceous rock that breaks with a conchoidal fracture.

Quartzite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced by the metamorphism of

sandstone.

Lapis Lazuli, the famous blue gem material, is actually a metamorphic rock.

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock that consists primarily of talc with varying amounts of other
minerals such as micas, chlorite, amphiboles, pyroxenes, and carbonates.
Mark Real J. Jubilo
CE - 5

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of sediments.

Clastic sedimentary rocks such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale are
formed from mechanical weathering debris.

Chemical sedimentary rocks such as rock salt, iron ore, chert, flint, some dolomites, and some
limestones, form when dissolved materials precipitate from solution.

Organic sedimentary rocks such as coal, some dolomites, and some limestones, form from the
accumulation of plant or animal debris.

Breccia is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed of large (over two-millimeter diameter)
angular fragments.

Chert is a microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline sedimentary rock material composed of silicon

dioxide (SiO2).

Coal is an organic sedimentary rock that forms mainly from plant debris.

Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that contains large (greater than two millimeters in
diameter) rounded particles.

Dolomite (also known as "dolostone" and "dolomite rock") is a chemical sedimentary rock that
is very similar to limestone.

Flint is a hard, tough, chemical or biochemical sedimentary rock that breaks with a conchoidal
fracture.

Iron Ore is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms when iron and oxygen (and sometimes
other substances) combine in solution and deposit as a sediment.

Limestone is a rock that is composed primarily of calcium carbonate.

Oil Shale is a rock that contains significant amounts of organic material in the form of kerogen.

Rock Salt is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms from the evaporation of ocean or saline
lake waters.
Mark Real J. Jubilo
CE - 5

Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock made up mainly of sand-size (1/16 to 2 millimeter

diameter) weathering debris.

Shale is a clastic sedimentary rock that is made up of clay-size (less than 1/256 millimeter in
diameter) weathering debris.

Siltstone is a clastic sedimentary rock that forms from silt-size (between 1/256 and 1/16
millimeter diameter) weathering debris.
Mark Real J. Jubilo
CE - 5

Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten rock material.

Intrusive igneous rocks crystallize below Earth's surface, and the slow cooling that occurs there
allows large crystals to form.

Extrusive igneous rocks erupt onto the surface, where they cool quickly to form small crystals.
Some cool so quickly that they form an amorphous glass.

Basalt is a fine-grained, dark-colored extrusive igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase

and pyroxene.

Dacite is a fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock that is usually light in color.

Diorite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock that contains a mixture of feldspar, pyroxene,
hornblende, and sometimes quartz.

Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark-colored, intrusive igneous rock that contains feldspar,

pyroxene, and sometimes olivine.

Granite is a coarse-grained, light-colored, intrusive igneous rock that contains mainly quartz,
feldspar, and mica minerals.

Obsidian is a dark-colored volcanic glass that forms from the very rapid cooling of molten rock
material.

Pegmatite is a light-colored, extremely coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock.

Peridotite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock that is composed almost entirely of olivine.

Pumice is a light-colored vesicular igneous rock. It forms through very rapid solidification of a
melt.

Rhyolite is a light-colored, fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock that typically contains quartz
and feldspar minerals.

Fire Opal is sometimes found filling cavities in rhyolite.

Mark Real J. Jubilo
CE - 5

Scoria is a dark-colored, vesicular, extrusive igneous rock.

Welded Tuff is a rock that is composed of materials that were ejected from a volcano, fell to
Earth, and then lithified into a rock.