ROCKS,THE

ROCK CYCLE
AND ROCK
MECHANICS
The Rock Cycle
Igneous rock forms
when magma cools and
crystallize.
Magma is a hot liquid
made of melted minerals.
These minerals form
crystals when they cool.
Igneous rock can form
underground, where the
magma cools slowly.
Or, igneous rock can
form above ground,
where the magma cools
quickly.
On Earth's surface, wind and
water can break rock into
pieces.
They can also carry rock
pieces to another place.
These pieces of rocks, known
as sediments, drop from the
wind or water to make a
layer.
The layer can be buried under
other layers of sediments.
After a long time the
sediments can be cemented
together to make sedimentary
rock.
In this way, igneous rock can
become sedimentary rock.

Due to the Earths heat
generating mechanisms (heat
from friction, pressure, and
radioactive decay), a rock (all of
the rocks) can be heated, hence,
baked.
Rocks subjected to heat (baked),
do not melt. But, changes occurs
due to the heat applied to the
rocks they form crystals.


The change in the rock/s is
called metamorphosis, and so
these rocks are termed
metamorphic rocks.
Metamorphosis/Metamorphism
can occur in rock when they
are heated to 300 to 700
degrees Celsius.
IGNEOUS ROCKS
The term igneous comes to us
from the Latin word "Ignis"
which means fire.
Most igneous rocks are
produced deep underground
by the cooling and hardening
of magma.
Magma is molten (melted)
rock under the surface of the
Earth.
It is produced in the upper
reaches of the mantle or in the
lowest areas of the crust
usually at a depth of 50 to 200
kilometers.
Magma is produced at a
subduction zone.
Because magma is less dense
than the surrounding rock, it
has the tendency to rise.
Magma that reaches the
surface of the earth is called
lava and the eruption of lava
and ash produce volcanoes.
The lava that reaches the
surface through volcanoes or
fissures cool down and
harden, thus forming what
are called EXTRUSIVE /
VOLCANIC IGNEOUS ROCKS.
Molten rock is also cooling and thus
hardening into igneous rocks deep
under the surface of the Earth.
These rocks become visible because
mountain building has thrust them
upward and erosion has removed the
softer rocks exposing the much
harder igneous rocks.
These are called INTRUSIVE or
PLUTONIC igneous rocks because the
magma has intruded into pre-exiting
rock layers.
Intrusive igneous rocks usually take
a few thousand years to cool
whereas extrusive igneous rocks take
only a few days or weeks to cool and
solidify.

CHEMISTRY OF VOLCANIC
ROCKS
Mafic rocks silica poor
igneous rocks with relatively
high content magnesium, iron
and calcium.
MAFIC magnesium and
ferric.
Basalts are dark colored, fine-
grained extrusive rock. The mineral
grains are so fine that they are
impossible to distinguish with the
naked eye or even a magnifying
glass.
They are the most widespread of all
the igneous rocks. Most basalts are
volcanic in origin and were formed
by the rapid cooling and hardening
of the lava flows.
FELSIC ROCKS
Silica rich igneous rocks with
relatively high amount of
potassium and sodium.
FELSIC meaning there is high
amount of feldspar, which
crytallizes from the potassium,
sodium, aluminum and silicon
oxides.
Rhyolite is very closely related to
granite. The difference is rhyolite
has much finer crystals. These
crystals are so small that they can
not be seen by the naked eye.
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous
rock having cooled much more
rapidly than granite, giving it a
glassy appearance. The minerals
that make up rhyolite are quartz,
feldspar, mica, and hornblende.
INTERMEDIATE ROCKS
Intermediate rocks are
those extrusive igneous
rocks with chemical
content between that of
a felsic and mafic.
e.g. ANDESITE
ANDESITE
OTHER VOLCANIC IGNEOUS
ROCKS
Obsidian is volcanic glass.
It is one of the few rocks that is not
composed of minerals.
When obsidian breaks it fractures
with a distinct conchoidal fracture.
Ancient people throughout the world
have used obsidian for arrowheads,
knives, spearheads, and cutting tools
of all kinds. Today obsidian is used as
a scalpel by doctors in very sensitive
eye operations.
Pumice is a very light colored,
frothy volcanic rock. Pumice is
formed from lava that is full of
gas.
The lava is ejected and shot
through the air during an
eruption. As the lava hurtles
through the air it cools and the
gases escape leaving the rock
full of holes.
Pumice is so light that it
floats on water.
Pumice is ground up and used
today in soaps, abrasive
cleansers, and also in
polishes.
SCORIA
An extrusive igneous rock,
that is a highly VESICULAR
BASALT.
A vesicular rock has the
appearance of Swiss cheese.
It contains more gas than
rock.
PLUTONIC ROCKS
Igneous rocks that are formed at
great depth.
Pluton an igneous body that
crystallized at a considerable
depth.
STOCK a small discordant
pluton with an outcrop area of
less than 100 sq. kilometers
BATHOLITH
STOCK
BATHOLITH a large discordant
pluton, with an outcrop area of
more than 100 sq. kilometers.
A discordant igneous rock
body cuts across the pre-exiting
rock bed. Batholiths and dikes are
examples of discordant rock
bodies.
A dike is a vertical or near
vertical intrusive igneous
rock body that cuts across
rock beds.
They frequently form from
explosive eruptions that
crack the area around a
volcano with the magma
filling the cracks forming a
dike.
A concordant igneous rock
body runs parallel to the pre-
existing bedrock.
Laccoliths and sills are
examples of concordant
igneous rock bodies. A laccolith
is a dome shaped intrusive
body that has intruded
between layers of sedimentary
rock.
The rising magma forces the
overlying layers to rise up
into a dome.
A sill is similar to a dike with
the exception that sills run
parallel to the existing rock
bed instead of cutting
through it.

Gabbros are mafic, dark-colored,
coarse-grained intrusive igneous
rocks.
They are very similar to basalts
in their mineral composition.
Gabbros are composed mostly of
the mineral plagioclase feldspar
with smaller amounts of
pyroxene and olivine.
GRANITE
A felsic, coarse grained
igneous rock composed
mainly of potassium and
sodium rich feldspar and
quartz, is the most abundant
intrusive rock
DIORITE
A coarse grained, igneous
rock of intermediate
composition.
It is composed of
approximately equal amounts
of plagioclase feldspar and
ferromagnesian minerals.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Sedimentary Rocks are formed by
deposition of either detrital or organic
matter, or chemical precipitates
(evaporites), followed by compaction
of the particulate matter and
cementation.
Rocks that are formed from lithification
of sediments, precipitation from
solution, or consolidation of plant or
animal remains.
Rocks exposed at the Earth's
surface will undergo weathering.
This is because most rocks are
formed at high pressures and
temperatures, away from the
influence of oxygen or water.
When brought to the surface by
volcanoes or earth movements,
such material is chemically
unstable and will break down
into a more stable form.
Rocks are weathered in two ways:
chemically, and mechanically,
which involves erosion by rivers,
wind, waves, or glaciers.
The weathered product, or
sediment, will comprise fragments
of rock and dissolved chemicals
which can be transported into
lakes, seas, oceans, or other
depressions on the Earth's surface,
where it may accumulate in layers.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS are
important. They are widely
spread and many of them are
economically important, such
as coal and limestone.
Concentrated in these are
rocks are important resources
such as petroleum,
groundwater, and iron ore.

SEDIMENT is the collective
for loose, solid particles that
originate from:
a. weathering and erosion
from preexisting rocks.
b. chemical precipitation
from solution, including
secretion by organisms in
water.
TRANSPORTATION OF
SEDIMENTS
ROUNDING is the grinding away
of sharp corners of rock
fragments during transportation.
SORTING is a process in which
sediment grains are selected and
separated according to grain size
(or grain shape or specific
gravity).

DEPOSITION
Deposition occurs when
transported material comes
to rest or settles.
It also refers to the
accumulation of chemical or
organic sediment. (e.g. clam
shells on the sea floor)
LITHIFICATION
Lithification is the group of
processes that convert loose
sediment into sedimentary
rocks.
Cementation, compaction, and
crystallization of minerals are
some of these processes.
TYPES OF
SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
Formed from cemented
sediment grains that are
fragments of preexisting
rocks.
Breccia's rock fragments are very
sharp and angular.
These rock fragments have not
been transported by water, wind,
or glaciers long enough to be
rounded and smoothed like in
the conglomerate.
The cementing agents silica,
calcite (CaCO3), and iron oxides
are the same as in conglomerate.
Conglomerate is a clastic
sedimentary rock that forms from
the cementing of rounded cobble
and pebble sized rock fragments.
Conglomerate is formed by river
movement or ocean wave action.
The cementing agents that fill the
spaces to form the solid rock
conglomerate are silica, calcite, or
iron oxides.
Sandstone is a clastic
sedimentary rock that forms
from the cementing together of
sand sized grains forming a solid
rock.
Quartz is the most abundant
mineral that forms sandstone.
Calcium carbonate, silica, or iron
has been added to the water that
is in contact with the sand
grains.
These minerals grow crystals
in the spaces around the sand
grains. As the crystals fill the
gaps the individual sand
grains are now transformed
into a solid rock.

FINE-GRAINED ROCKS
SHALE is a fine grained sedimentary
rock notable for its splitting capability,
or fissility.
Most shales contain both silt and clay
and are so fined grained that the
surface of the rock feels very smooth.
These silts and clay deposits lithify and
transform into shale, and accumulate
on lake bottoms, at the ends of rivers in
deltas, beside rivers in flood, and on
quiet part of the deep ocean floor.
SILTSTONE is a rock consisting
mostly of silt grains.
It lacks the fissility of and
laminations of shale because it is
much more coarse-grained than
shale.
MUDSTONE is a rock that contains
both silt and clay, has the same grain
size and is almost as smooth as shale
but lacks that of shales fissility and
lamination.
CARBONATE ROCKS
Limestone is the most abundant of
the non-clastic sedimentary rocks.
Limestone is produced from the
mineral calcite (calcium carbonate)
and sediment. The main source of
limestone is the limy ooze formed in
the ocean.
The calcium carbonate can be
precipitated from ocean water or it
can be formed from sea creatures
that secrete lime such as algae and
coral.
COQUINA is a variety of
limestone that forms from the
cementation of shells that
accumulated on sea floor.
It is usually coarse grained,
due to the presence of shells
and shell fragments present
in it.
OOLITIC LIMESTONE, a
variety of limestone, is
formed through the
cementation of sand-sized
oolites (ooids), small spheres
of calcite inorganically
precipitated in warm, shallow
sea water.
Chalk is another type of
limestone that is made up of
very small single-celled
organisms. Chalk is usually
white or gray in color.
Limestone can easily be
dissolved by acids.
OTHER SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Chert is a very hard sedimentary
rock that is usually found in
nodules in limestone.
Chert is light gray to dark gray in
color. It probably formed from the
remains of ancient sea sponges or
other ocean animals that have
been fossilized.
Silica has replaced the tissue
forming the sedimentary rock.
Flint is a very dark form of chert.
It breaks like obsidian with
conchoidal fractures making it
widely used by ancient people to
make arrowheads, spear heads,
and knives.

Organic sedimentary rocks
form from the build up and
decay of plant and animal
material. This usually forms
in swamp regions in which
there is an abundant supply
of growing vegetation and
low amounts of oxygen.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
Metamorphism the solid
state transformation of
preexisting rocks into
texturally or mineralogically
distinct new rock as a result
of high temperature, high
pressure, or both.
FACTORS CONTROLLING THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
1. Composition of the parent
rock before metamorphism
2. Temperature and pressure
during metamorphism
3. Effects of fluids, such as
water
CLASSIFICATION OF
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
FOLIATED or NONFOLIATED
FOLIATION the parallel alignment of
textural and structural features of a
rock.
1. If a rock splits easily along nearly flat and
parallel planes, indicating that preexisting,
microscopic, platy minerals were pushed into
alignment during metamorphism, then the
rock is slaty, or it possesses a slaty
cleavage.
2. If visible platy or needle shaped
minerals have grown essentially
parallel to one another while under the
influence of directed pressure, the rock
is schistose.
3. If the rock became very plastic and
the new minerals separated into
distinct layers or lenses, the rock has a
layered gneissic texture.
TYPES OF METAMORPHISM
CONTACT/THERMAL
METAMORPHISM metamorphism in
which high temperature is the
dominant factor.
REGIONAL/DYNAMOTHERMAL
METAMORPHISM metamorphism
caused by relatively high temperature
and pressure.
Marble is metamorphosed limestone
or dolomite. Both limestone and
dolomite have a large concentration
of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Marble
has many different sizes of crystals.
Marble has many color variances due
to the impurities present at
formation. Some of the different
colors of marble are white, red, black,
mottled and banded, gray, pink, and
green.
Marble is much harder than its parent
rock. This allows it to take a polish
which makes it a good material for
use as a building material, making
sink tops, bathtubs, and a carving
stone for artists.
Today, headstones are made from
marble and granite because both of
these rocks weather very slowly and
carve well with sharp edges.
Slate is a fine-grained metamorphic rock
with perfect cleavage that allows it to split
into thin sheets.
Slate usually has a light to dark brown
streak. Slate is produced by low grade
metamorphism, which is caused by
relatively low temperatures and pressures.
Slate has been used by man in a variety of
ways over the years. One use for slate
was in the making of headstones or grave
markers. Slate is not very hard and can be
engraved easily.
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic
rock, which means that it has been
subjected to more heat and pressure than
slate, which is a low grade metamorphic
rock.
The individual grains of minerals can be
seen by the naked eye, and many of the
original minerals have been altered into
flakes. Because it has been squeezed
harder than slate it is often found folded
and crumpled.
Schists are usually named by the
main mineral from which they are
formed. Bitotite mica schist,
hornblende schist, garnet mica
schist, and talc schist are some
examples of this

Gneiss is a high grade metamorphic
rock, which means that gneiss has
been subjected to more heat and
pressure than schist.
Gneiss is coarser than schist and has
distinct banding. This banding has
alternating layers that are composed
of different minerals.
The minerals that compose gneiss are
the same as granite.
Feldspar is the most important
mineral that makes up gneiss along
with mica and quartz.
Gneiss can be formed from a
sedimentary rock such as sandstone
or shale, or it can be formed from the
metamorphism of the igneouse rock
grantite. Gneiss can be used by man
as paving and building stone.

Quartzite is composed of
sandstone that has been
metamorphosed.
Quartzite is much harder than
the parent rock, sandstone. It
forms from sandstone that has
come into contact with deeply
buried magmas. Quartzite looks
similar to its parent rock.
The best way to tell quartzite
from sandstone is to break
the rocks. Sandstone will
shatter into many individual
grains of sand while quartzite
will break across the grains.

NAME
(Examples)
CAUSE LOCATION
CHARACTERISTICS
Sedimentary
limestone;
sandstone;
chalk; coal;
rock salt;
shale;
dolomite;
conglomerate
created when layers of
sediment (mud, sand, gravel
and minerals) settle to the
bottom of the ocean and then
compacted (pressed together)
over thousands of years
where oceans
or bodies of
water once
existed or still
exist
soft, layered,
may contain
fossils
Igneous
quartz;
pumice;
granite; basalt;
obsidian
created when molten rock
(lava) inside the Earth pushes
through the crust (like in a
volcanic eruption) and then
cools
where
volcanoes have
or do exist
crystalline,
glossy, coarse-
grained
Metamorphic
marble; slate;
gneiss; schist;
quartzite;
eclogite
created when sedimentary or
igneous rocks undergo
metamorphosis (change)
caused by pressure, heat, and
water acting on the rocks
deep within the
earth (where
pressure and
heat have a
very large
affect)
hard, may
contain bands
or layers, may
contain
crystals