Geography

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Types of rocks
By:Vighnesh.k
Rock or stone is a natural
substance, a solid aggregate of one
or more minerals or mineraloids.
For example, granite, a
common rock, is a combination of
the minerals quartz, feldspar and
biotite. The Earth's outer solid
layer, the lithosphere, is made
of rock. Rock has been used by
humankind throughout history.
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus, meaning of
fire, from ignis meaning fire) is formed through the cooling
and solidification of magma or lava. This magma may be derived
from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either
a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is
caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in
temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition.
Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories:
 Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools

and crystallizes slowly within the Earth's crust. A common
example of this type is granite.
 Volcanic or extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the
surface either as lava or fragmental ejecta, forming minerals
such as pumice or basalt.
The chemical abundance and the rate of cooling of magma
typically forms a sequence known as Bowen's reaction series.
Most major igneous rocks are found along this scale.[3]
About 64.7% of the Earth's crust by volume consists of igneous
rocks, making it the most plentiful category. Of these, 66% are
basalts and gabbros, 16% are granite, and
17% granodiorites and diorites. Only 0.6% are syenites and
0.3% peridotites and dunites. The oceanic crust is 99% basalt,
which is an igneous rock of mafic composition. Granites and
similar rocks, known as meta-granitoids, form much of the
continental crust. Over 700 types of igneous rocks have been
described ,most of them having formed beneath the surface
of Earth's crust. These have diverse properties, depending on
their composition and the temperature and pressure conditions
in which they were formed.
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type—
sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic
rock—to different temperatureand pressure conditions than those
in which the original rock was formed. This process is
called metamorphism, meaning to "change in form". The result is
a profound change in physical properties and chemistry of the
stone. The original rock, known as the protolith, transforms into
other mineral types or other forms of the same minerals,
by recrystallization. The temperatures and pressures required for
this process are always higher than those found at the Earth's
surface: temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C and pressures
of 1500 bars. Metamorphic rocks compose 27.4% of the crust by
volume.
The three major classes of metamorphic rock are based upon the
formation mechanism. An intrusion of magma that heats the
surrounding rock causes contact metamorphism—a temperature-
dominated transformation. Pressure metamorphism occurs when
sediments are buried deep under the ground; pressure is
dominant, and temperature plays a smaller role. This is termed
burial metamorphism, and it can result in rocks such as jade.
Where both heat and pressure play a role, the mechanism is
termed regional metamorphism. This is typically found in
mountain-building regions.[3]
Depending on the structure, metamorphic rocks are divided into
two general categories. Those that possess a texture are referred
to as foliated; the remainders are termed non-foliated. The name
of the rock is then determined based on the types of minerals
present. Schists are foliated rocks that are primarily composed
of lamellar minerals such as micas. A gneiss has visible bands of
differing lightness, with a common example being the granite
gneiss. Other varieties of foliated rock include slates, phyllites,
and mylonite. Familiar examples of non-foliated metamorphic
rocks include marble, soapstone, and serpentine. This branch
contains quartzite—a metamorphosed form of sandstone—
and hornfels.
Sedimentary sandstone with iron oxide bands
Sedimentary rocks are formed at the earth's surface by the

accumulation and cementation of fragments of earlier rocks,
minerals, and organisms[7] or as chemical precipitates and
organic growths in water (sedimentation). This process
causes clastic sediments (pieces of rock) or organic particles
(detritus) to settle and accumulate, or for minerals to
chemically precipitate (evaporite) from a solution. The
particulate matter then undergoes compaction
and cementation at moderate temperatures and pressures
(diagenesis).
Before being deposited, sediments are formed by weathering of
earlier rocks by erosion in a source area and then transported to
the place of deposition by water, wind, ice, mass
movement or glaciers (agents of denudation). Mud rocks
comprise 65% (mudstone, shale and siltstone); sandstones 20 to
25% and carbonate rocks 10 to 15%
(limestone and dolostone).[4] About 7.9% of the crust by volume
is composed of sedimentary rocks, with 82% of those being
shales, while the remainder consists of limestone (6%),
sandstone and arkoses (12%).[6] Sedimentary rocks often
contain fossils. Sedimentary rocks form under the influence of
gravity and typically are deposited in horizontal or near
horizontal layers or strata and may be referred to as stratified
rocks. A small fraction of sedimentary rocks deposited on steep
slopes will show cross bedding where one layer stops abruptly
along an interface where another layer eroded the first as it was
laid atop the first.
THE ROCK CYCLE

The rock cycle is a basic concept in geology that describes the
time-consuming transitions through geologic time among the
three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous.
As the adjacent diagram illustrates, each of the types of rocks is
altered or destroyed when it is forced out of its equilibrium
conditions. An igneous rock such as basalt may break down and
dissolve when exposed to the atmosphere, or melt as it
is subducted under a continent. Due to the driving forces of the
rock cycle, plate tectonics and the water cycle, rocks do not
remain in equilibrium and are forced to change as they encounter
new environments. The rock cycle is an illustration that explains
how the three rock types are related to each other, and how
processes change from one type to another over time. This
cyclical aspect makes rock change a geologic cycle and, on planets containing life,
a biogeochemical cycle.

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 Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools

Sedimentary rocks are formed at the earth's surface by the

THE ROCK CYCLE

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