ROCK

Mark C. Balonquita

Rock

Rocks are any solid mass of mineral or

mineral-like matter occurring naturally as part
of our planet.

Ingeology,rockorstoneis a naturally
occurring solidaggregateof one or more
minerals or mineraloids.

For example, the common rockgraniteis a

combination of the quartz, feldspar and
biotite minerals.

The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere,

is made of rock.

TYPES OF ROCKS
IGNEOUS ROCK

SEDIMENTARY
ROCK

METAMORPHIC
ROCK

Igneous
formed by the crystallization of molten magma.

Sedimentary

Formed from the weathered products of preexisting rocks that have been
transported, deposited, compacted, and cemented.

Metamorphic

Formed by the alteration of pre-existing rock deep within Earth (but

still in the solid state) by heating, pressure, and/or chemically active
fluids.

 Shows

the
interrelationships
among the three
rock types
(igneous,
sedimentary and
metamorphic)

Magma

Lava

Is magma that reaches the

surface.

Weathering
Is a process in which rocks
are broken down by water,
air, and living things.

is molten material that

forms deep beneath the
Earths surface

Sediment

Is weathered pieces of
Earth elements

What are the processes that

helped shape earths surface?

Weathering is the process of

disintegration (physical) and
decomposition (chemical) of rocks.
The

end result of continuous weathering is

loose fragments of rocks and minerals that
cover the surface of Earth, which are
collectively known as regolith.

WEATHERING
1. Mechanical Weathering
Mechanical weathering occurs
when physical forces break rock
into smaller and smaller pieces
without changing the rocks mineral
composition.
In nature three physical process
are especially important causes of
weathering: frost wedging,
unloading, and biological activity.

WEATHERING
Mechanical Weathering
1. Frost wedging
The mechanical breakup of rock caused by the
expansion of freezing water in cracks and
crevices
Sections of rock that are wedged loose may
tumble into large piles called talus, which
typically form at the base of steep, rocky cliffs.

WEATHERING
Mechanical Weathering
2. Unloading
Reduced pressure on
igneous rock causes it
to expand and allows
slabs of outer rock to
break off in layers in a
process called
exfoliation.

Unloading and Exfoliation

of Igneous Rocks

WEATHERING AND
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
3. Biological activity
The activity of
organisms, including
plants, burrowing
animals, and
humans, can also
cause mechanical
weathering.

WEATHERING
2. Chemical Weathering
Weathering of Silicate Minerals
Produces insoluble iron oxides and clay minerals

Spheroidal Weathering
Causes the corners and edges of rock to be
more rounded

Mass Wasting
Mass

wasting, also known as slope

movement or massmovement, is
the geomorphic process by which
soil, sand, regolith, and rock
move downslope typically as
amass, largely under the force of
gravity, but frequently affected
by water and water content as in
submarine
environments
and
mudflows.

Types of Mass Movement Processes

The down-slope movement of material, whether it be bedrock, regolith,
or a mixture of these, is commonly referred to as alandslide.
1. Slope Failures-asuddenfailureofthe
sloperesultingintransportofdebrisdown
hillbysliding,rolling,falling,orslumping.

2. Sediment Flows-debrisflows
downhillmixedwithwaterorair.

Slope Failures
1. Slumps (also called Rotational
Slides)- typesofslideswherein
downwardrotationofrockorregolith
occursalongaconcave-upwardcurved
surface(rotationalslides).

2. Falls -Rock fallsoccurwhenapieceofrock

onasteepslopebecomesdislodgedandfalls
downtheslope.Debris fallsaresimilar,except
theyinvolveamixtureofsoil,regolith,
vegetation,androcks.
Becausethisprocessinvolvesthefreefallof
material,fallscommonlyoccurwherethere
aresteepcliffs.Atthebaseofmostcliffsis
anaccumulationoffallenmaterial
termedtalus.

3. Slides (also called Translational Slides) -Rockslidesand

debrisslidesresultwhenrocksordebrisslidedownapreexistingsurface,suchasabeddingplane,foliationsurface,
orjointsurface(jointsareregularlyspacedfracturesinrock
thatresultfromexpansionduringcoolingorupliftoftherock
mass).

Sediment Flows

Sediment flows occur when sufficient force is applied to

rocks and regolith that they begin to flowdown slope. A
sediment flow is a mixture of rock, and/or regolith with
some water or air.

They can be broken into two types depending on the

amount of water present.

1. Slurry Flows

are sediment flows that contain between

about 20 and 40% water. As the water
content increases above about 40% slurry
flows grade into streams. Slurry flows are
considered water-saturated flows.

2. Granular Flows

are sediment flows that contain between

0 and 20% water. Note that granular flows
are possible with little or no water. Fluidlike behavior is given these flows by
mixing with air. Granular flows are not
saturated with water.

Eachoftheseclassesofsedimentflowscanbefurther
subdividedonthebasisofthevelocityatwhichflowageoccurs.

Slurry Flows
1. Solifluction-flowageatratesmeasuredon
theorderofcentimetersperyearofregolith
containingwater.Solifluctionproduces
distinctivelobesonhillslopes.Theseoccurin
areaswherethesoilremainssaturatedwith
waterforlongperiodsoftime.
2. Debris Flows-theseoccurathigher
velocitiesthansolifluction,withvelocities
between1meter/yrand100meters/hrand
oftenresultfromheavyrainscausing
saturationofthesoilandregolithwithwater.
Theysometimesstartwithslumpsandthen
flowdownhillforminglobeswithan
irregularsurfaceconsistingofridgesand
furrows.

3. Mudflows-theseareahighlyfluid,highvelocitymixtureof
sedimentandwaterthathasaconsistencyrangingbetweensouplikeandwetconcrete.Theymoveatvelocitiesgreaterthan1
km/hrandtendtotravelalongvalleyfloors.Theseusuallyresult
fromheavyrainsinareaswherethereisanabundanceof
unconsolidatedsedimentthatcanbepickedupbystreams.Thus
afteraheavyrainstreamscanturnintomudflowsastheypickup
moreandmoreloosesediment.

Granular Flows
1. Creep-theveryslow,usuallycontinuous
movementofregolithdownslope.Creepoccurs
onalmostallslopes,buttheratesvary.Evidence
forcreepisoftenseeninbenttrees,offsetsin
roadsandfences,andinclinedutilitypoles.
2. Earthflows -areusuallyassociatedwith
heavyrainsandmoveatvelocitiesbetween
severalcm/yrand100sofm/day.Theyusually
remainactiveforlongperiodsoftime.They
generallytendtobenarrowtongue-likefeatures
thatbeginatascarporsmallcliff.

3. Grain Flows-usuallyforminrelativelydry
material,suchasasanddune,onasteepslope.
Asmalldisturbancesendsthedry
unconsolidatedgrainsmovingrapidlydown
slope.
4. Debris Avalanches-Theseareveryhigh
velocityflowsoflargevolumemixturesofrock
andregoliththatresultfromcompletecollapse
ofamountainousslope.Theymovedownslope
andthencantravelforconsiderabledistances
alongrelativelygentleslopes.Theyareoften
triggeredbyearthquakesandvolcanic
eruptions.

5. Snow Avalanchesaresimilar
todebrisavalanches,but
involveonlysnow,andare
muchmorecommonthan
debrisavalanches.Snow
avalanchesusuallycause
hundredsofdeathsworldwide
eachyear.

Mass Movements in Cold Climates

Mass movement in cold climates is governed by the fact

that water is frozen as ice during long periods of the year.
Ice, although it is solid, does have the ability to flow, and
freezing and thawing cycles can also contribute to
movement.

Types:
Rock

Glaciers- a lobe of ice-cemented

rock debris (mostly rocks with ice
between the blocks) that slowly moves
downhill.

Frost

Heaving- this process is large

contributor to creep in cold climates.
When water saturated soils freeze, they
expand, pushing rocks and boulders on
the surface upward perpendicular to the
slope. When the soil thaws, the boulders
move down vertically resulting in a net
down slope movement.

Subaqueous Mass Movements

Mass

wasting processes also occur on steep

slopes in the ocean basins. A slope failure
can occur due to over-accumulation of
sediment on slope or in a submarine
canyon, or could occur as a result of a
shock like an earthquake.

3 types of mass movements are common, based on

degree of disintegration of the material during
movement:

1.Submarine slumps Coherent

blocks break and slip.
2.Submarine debris flows Moving
material breaks apart.
3.Turbidity currents Sediment moves
as a turbulent cloud, called
aturbidity current.

TYPES OF ROCKS

Igneous Rock
Igneous

rocks are formed from the

solidification of molten rock material.

There

are two basic types.

Intrusive igneous rocks / Plutonic

crystallize

below Earth's surface,

and the slow cooling that occurs
there allows large crystals to form.
Examples of intrusive igneous rocks
arediorite,gabbro,granite,
pegmatite, andperidotite.

Diorite is a coarse-grained,
intrusive igneous rock that
contains a mixture of feldspar,
pyroxene, hornblende, and
sometimes quartz. The specimen
shown above is about two inches
(five centimeters) across.

Gabbro is a coarse-grained,
dark-colored, intrusive igneous
rock that contains feldspar,
pyroxene, and sometimes olivine
. The specimen shown above is
about two inches (five
centimeters) across.

Granite is a coarse-grained, lightcolored, intrusive igneous rock

that contains mainly quartz,
feldspar, and mica minerals. The
specimen above is about two
inches (five centimeters) across.

Pegmatite is a light-colored,
extremely coarse-grained
intrusive igneous rock. It forms
near the margins of a magma
chamber during the final phases
of magma chamber
crystallization. It often contains
rare minerals that are not found in
other parts of the magma
chamber. The specimen shown
above is about two inches (five
centimeters) across.

Peridotite is a coarse-grained
intrusive igneous rock that is
composed almost entirely of
olivine. It may contain small
amounts of amphibole, feldspar,
quartz, or pyroxene. The
specimen shown above is about
two inches (five centimeters)
across.

Extrusive igneous rocks/ Volcanic

erupt

onto the surface, where

they cool quickly to form small
crystals. Some cool so quickly that
they form an amorphous glass.
These rocks includeandesite,
basalt,obsidian,pumice,
rhyolite,scoria, andtuff.

Andesite is a fine-grained,
extrusive igneous rock composed
mainly of plagioclase with other
minerals such as hornblende,
pyroxene, and biotite. The
specimen shown is about two
inches (five centimeters) across.

Basalt is a fine-grained, darkcolored extrusive igneous rock

composed mainly of plagioclase
and pyroxene. The specimen
shown is about two inches (five
centimeters) across.

Obsidian is a dark-colored
volcanic glass that forms from the
very rapid cooling of molten rock
material. It cools so rapidly that
crystals do not form. The
specimen shown above is about
two inches (five centimeters)
across.

Pumice is a light-colored
vesicular igneous rock. It forms
through very rapid solidification of
a melt. The vesicular texture is a
result of gas trapped in the melt
at the time of solidification. The
specimen shown above is about
two inches (five centimeters)
across.

Rhyolite is a light-colored, finegrained, extrusive igneous rock

that typically contains quartz and
feldspar minerals. The specimen
shown above is about two inches
(five centimeters) across.

Scoria is a dark-colored,
vesicular, extrusive igneous rock.
The vesicles are a result of
trapped gas within the melt at the
time of solidification. It often
forms as a frothy crust on the top
of a lava flow or as material
ejected from a volcanic vent and
solidifying while airborne. The
specimen shown above is about
two inches (five centimeters)
across.

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. It is usually composed
mainly of volcanic ash and
sometimes contains larger size
particles such as cinders. The
specimen shown above is about
two inches (five centimeters)
across.

Hypabyssal

Hypabyssal igneous rocks are formed at a depth in between

theplutonicandvolcanic rocks. These are formed due to
cooling and resultant solidification of rising magma just
beneath the earth surface.

Hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic

rocks and often formdikes,sills,laccoliths,lopoliths, or
phacoliths.

Dolerite

Pegmatite

Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary

rocks are formed

by the accumulation of
sediments.

There

are three basic types of

sedimentary rocks.

Clastic sedimentary rocks

Such asbreccia,conglomerate,sandstone,siltstone, and
shaleare formed from mechanical weathering debris.

Chemical sedimentary rocks

such asrock salt,iron ore,chert,flint, some

dolomites, and somelimestones, form when
dissolved materials precipitate from solution.

Organic sedimentary rocks

such ascoal, some dolomites, and somelimestones, form

from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.

Metamorphic Rock
Metamorphic

rocks have been modified

by heat, pressure, and chemical
processes, usually while buried deep
below Earth's surface. Exposure to these
extreme conditions has altered the
mineralogy, texture, and chemical
composition of the rocks.

There

are two basic types of

metamorphic rocks.

Foliated metamorphic rocks

such asgneiss,phyllite,schist, and slatehave a layered

or banded appearance that is produced by exposure to
heat and directed pressure.

Non-foliated metamorphic rocks

such ashornfels, marble,quartzite, andnovaculitedo

not have a layered or banded appearance. Pictures and
brief descriptions of some common types of metamorphic
rocks are shown on this page.