Our Earth…ROCKS!

Sierra Nevada, California

Mount Everest
Red Cliffs, Utah
Desert lands,
UAE
The 8 elements comprising almost 99% of
the minerals making up the earth’s crust
 THINK ABOUT THIS?
• Can a name of a mineral be also
used as a rock name?
• Yes, a rock composed
predominantly of the
mineral Gypsum
(CaSO4) is called
Gypsum Rock.
 What is a ROCK?
• Usually defined as a mixture
of common minerals.
• Rocks can be
hard or soft, as
small as a grain
or as large as a
building
 Origin & Environment of
Rock Formation
Rocks are naturally formed,
consolidated material
composed of grains of one or
more minerals
The Rock Cycle
 Rock cycle
• is the sequence of events
in which rocks are
formed, destroyed,
altered, and reformed by
geological processes
 Interactive Quiz
• http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/com
pletecycle/
Concept Mapping Activity
 Homework
• Summative Assessment next meeting
 Types of Rock
• Igneous rock is the
rock that forms when
magma rises to Earth’s
surface, cools and
solidifies.
• Magma is
molten
material
that forms
deep
beneath
Earth’s
surface.
 Lava is
molten rock
material extruded
to the surface of
the earth through
a central vent
(volcano) or as
fissure eruption
INTRUSIVE OR PLUTONIC ROCKS
• from solidified magma underneath the
earth
• gradual lowering of temperature is
indicated by the movement of magma
from depth to surface causing slow
cooling /crystallization
INTRUSIVE OR PLUTONIC ROCKS
• Phaneritic textures
(Slow cooling
forms large
interlocking
crystals, a texture
called phaneritic)
• Examples: granite,
diorite, gabbro
VOLCANIC OR EXTRUSIVE ROCKS
• from solidified lava at or near the surface
of the earth
• fast rate of cooling/crystallization due to
huge variance in the temperature
between Earth’s surface and underneath
• common textures: aphanitic, porphyritic,
vesicular
VOLCANIC OR EXTRUSIVE ROCKS
• Fast cooling
does not
promote the
formation of
large crystals.
• examples:
rhyolite,
andesite, basalt
 Pyroclastic rocks
• fragmental rocks usually associated
with violent or explosive type of
eruption.
• Examples tuff
• and pyroclastic flow deposits
(ignimbrite)
 Porphyritic texture
formed through 2 stages of crystallization where in:
 magma partly cooled
below the surface of the
earth providing time for the
large crystals to grow
(phenocrysts) before it is
 extruded to the surface
forming the fine grained
matrix (groundmass).
 Aphanitic texture
• fine-grained texture
• minerals not visible to
the naked eye
• relatively fast rates of
cooling/ solidification
prevent the formation
of large crystals.
 Vesicular texture
• voids created
by rapid
cooling which
causes air
bubbles to be
trapped inside.
• Igneous rocks are also classified
according to silica content and
relative amounts of K, Na, Fe, Mg
and Ca.
• They can be classified as felsic,
intermediate, mafic and
ultramafic, practically based on
presence of light and dark
colored minerals
• felsic: granitic: >65%
silica, generally
light-colored
• intermediate:
andesitic: 55-65%
silica, generally
medium colored
(medium gray)
• mafic: basaltic: 45-
55% silica, usually
dark colored
• ultramafic: <45%
silica, generally very
dark colored
• Granite and Rhyolite have the
same chemical composition
however Granite on the left
exhibits phaneritic texture and
Rhyolite on the right has
aphanitic and porphyritic
textures.
• Diorite and Andesite have the
same chemical composition but
different textures. Diorite (left) is
coarse grained (phaneritic) and
andesite (right) is fine grained
(aphanitic and porphyritic).
• Gabbro and Basalt are of the
same chemical composition but
differ in texture. Gabbro (left)
has larger crystals than basalt
(right) which has finer crystals.
 Types of Rock
• Sedimentary rock is
formed when sediment
becomes cemented or
compacted through the
process of lithification.
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Rocks that are formed at or near the
surface of the Earth
• Sedimentary processes include:
 Weathering of rocks
 Erosion
 Sediment transport and deposition
(compaction and cementation)
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Common sedimentary features: fossil
assemblages and stratification
• Fossil assemblages: remains and traces of
plants and animals that are preserved in rocks
 Sedimentary Rocks
• Stratification or layering (strata which is >1cm
is called bedding and < 1cm is called
lamination):
• Layering is the
result of a change
in grain size and
composition; each
layer represents a
distinct period of
deposition
 Clastic sedimentary rocks
• GRAINS, MATRIX AND CEMENT are the
components of clastic rocks
• Grains: greater than sand-sized minerals
and/or rock fragments.
• Matrix: fine-grained (clay to silt sized)
minerals.
• Cement: minerals precipitated from
solution that binds the grains and matrix
together
Clastic sedimentary rocks
• Clastic rocks are commonly classified
based on particle size
• Clastic rocks with volcanic origin (e.g.
pyroclastics) and may have
undergone some stages in the
sedimentary processes could be
classified as sedimentary rock (e.g.
volcanoclastic rocks).
Clastic sedimentary rocks
• the presence of variable grain
sizes (including matrix and
cement) is indicative of
sedimentary differentiation which
is actually a function of processes
happening in different
sedimentary environments.
Table of the Different Clastic Rocks
• Rudaceous Rocks: (rudites) >50% clasts
diameter >2mm made up of primarily
rock fragments
• Arenaceous Rocks: (arenites) >50%
sediments diameter between 0.063-
2mm can contain high quartz %.
• Argillaceous Rocks: (argillites) >50%
sediments diameter <0.063mm and
made up mainly of clay minerals and
quartz grains to a much lesser extent
 Non-clastic sedimentary
rocks
• evaporation and precipitation from
solution or lithification of organic
matter
• classified as evaporites (halite,
gypsum and dolostone), precipitates
(limestone) and bioclastics (coal,
coquina)
 Non-clastic sedimentary
rocks
• Evaporites: rocks
formed from the
evaporation of
water leaving the
dissolved minerals
to crystallize
 Non-clastic sedimentary
rocks
• Precipitates: rocks
formed when minerals
from a mineral
supersaturated waters
start to crystallize at
the bottom of the
solution Limestone
 Non-clastic sedimentary
rocks
• Bioclastic:
rock formed
from
compacted
organic
matter
 Types of Rock
• Metamorphic rock is formed
when igneous, sedimentary
or other metamorphic rocks
re-crystallize in response to
elevated temperature,
increased pressure, chemical
change and/or deformation.
 Metamorphic rock

• Contact Metamorphism
• Regional Metamorphism
 Contact Metamorphism
• Contact
Metamorphism -
changes that occur
when magma is
injected into the
surrounding solid
rock (country rock)
 Contact Metamorphism
• Imagine magma forcing its way
up through rock layers under
the crust.
• The magma will bake the
surrounding rocks due to the
differences in temperature (rock
layers are cooler than the
magma) causing them to
metamorphose.
 Regional Metamorphism
• aka Dynamic Metamorphism – changes
in great masses or rock over a wide area
• Rocks can be metamorphosed simply by
being at great depths below the Earth’s
surface, subjected to high temperatures
and the great pressure caused by the
immense weight of the rock layers
above.
Regional metamorphism beneath a mountain range
related to continent-continent collision (typical
geothermal gradient). (Example: Himalayan Range)
Regional metamorphism of oceanic crustal
rock on either side of a spreading ridge.
(Example: Juan de Fuca spreading ridge)
 What are the
2 types of rock?