Thursday, October 22, 2009
3 types of rocks
How to tell if it’s a…
Igneous rock
The main way to tell is by its texture. Texture relates to how large the individual mineral grains are in the final, solid rock. In most cases, the resulting grain size depends on how quickly the magma cooled. In general, the slower the cooling, the larger the crystals in the final rock. Because of this, we assume that coarse grained igneous rocks are "intrusive," in that they cooled at depth in the crust where they were insulated by layers of rock and sediment. Fine grained rocks are called "extrusive" and are generally produced through volcanic eruptions.
Grain size can vary greatly, from extremely coarse grained rocks with crystals the size of your fist, down to glassy material which cooled so quickly that there are no mineral grains at all. Coarse grain varieties (with mineral grains large enough to see without a magnifying glass) are called phaneritic. Granite and gabbro are examples of phaneritic igneous rocks. Fine grained rocks, where the individual grains are too small to see, are called aphanitic. Basalt is an example. The most common glassy rock is obsidian. Obviously, there are innumerable intermediate stages to confuse the issue.
Sedimentary Rock
In most places on the surface, the igneous rocks which make up the majority of the crust are covered by a thin veneer of loose sediment, and the rock which is made as layers of this debris get compacted and cemented together. Sedimentary rocks are called secondary, because they are often the result of the accumulation of small pieces broken off of pre-existing rocks. There are three main types of sedimentary rocks:
Clastic: your basic sedimentary rock. Clastic sedimentary rocks are accumulations of clasts: little pieces of broken up rock which have piled up and been "lithified" by compaction and cementation.
Chemical: many of these form when standing water evaporates, leaving dissolved minerals behind. These are very common in arid lands, where seasonal "playa lakes" occur in closed depressions. Thick deposits of salt and gypsum can form due to repeated flooding and evaporation over long periods of time.
Organic: any accumulation of sedimentary debris caused by organic processes. Many animals use calcium for shells, bones, and teeth. These bits of calcium can pile up on the seafloor and accumulate into a thick enough layer to form an "organic" sedimentary rock.
Metamorphic
Rock foliation refers to flat or wavy planar features (looking like layers) caused by the alignment of platy minerals such as mica. Foliation may also look like alternating bands of light and dark minerals. In contrast, a non foliated rock has interlocking grains with no specific pattern. Foliated rocks are classified based on metamorphic grade: the lower the metamorphic grade, the smaller and finer the crystal size. Non foliated are classified based on composition, and this usually depends on the type of rock it originally formed from.
A great website with all this info is http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry13.html
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