IGNEOUS ROCKS Igneous rocks are crystalline solids which form directly from the cooling of magma.

This is an exothermic process (it loses heat) and involves a phase change from the liquid to the solid state. The earth is made of igneous rock - at least at the surface where our planet is exposed to the coldness of space. Igneous rocks are given names based upon two things: composition (what they are made of) and texture (how big the crystals are). Glassy texture 1. obsidian Obsidian is volcanic glass without gas bubbles. It is usually black or dark brown in color and breaks with a conchoidal (shell-like) fracture. Be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp edges. A variety of obsidian with white to light gray crystallized patches surrounded by black glass is known as snowflake obsidian. 2. pumice Pumice is volcanic glass filled with gas bubble holes (vesicles). It may be thought of as a glass foam. Because of the large number of holes, pumice is very light-weight; it will float on water. Pumice comes in many colors, but the most common color is gray. fine-grained (aphanitic texture) 3. rhyolite Rhyolite is a high-silica, fine-grained rock. You cannot see the mineral grains with the naked eye. Its colors are gray, light brown, tan, pale yellow, pink, and other earth-colors. Sometimes there may be a sprinkling of small crystals, but most of the rock is fine-grained. Using food terms, it resembles baloney (unidentifiable components). Rhyolite has the same chemical and mineral content as granite. 4. andesite Andesite is the name of fine-grained igneous rocks that are midway in color and mineral composition between rhyolite and basalt. Andesites are commonly gray or some shade of medium brown. Commonly they have a porphyritic texture; there are larger visible crystals surrounded by the gray or brown andesite. 5. basalt Basalt is a fine-grained igneous rock rich in iron that gives it a black to brown color. Fluid lava flows, such as those in Hawaii, produce basalt. If basalt has a large number of gas bubble holes it is called vesicular basalt or scoria. Basalt that has been exposed to air and water for a long time may oxidize to a red color. coarse-grained (phaneritic) texture 6. granite Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock often with a pink to reddish color. A large portion of the granite is made of small crystals of orthoclase feldspar which give the rock the pink or reddish color. Other minerals present are quartz (usually gray). albite feldspar (white) and either white mica (muscovite) or black mica (biotite). The word granite means grain-rock; it it weathers, it crumbles into loose grains.

7. diorite Diorite is a coarse-grained igneous rock intermediate in composition between granite and gabbro. It can sometimes be described as a "white granite" because of the abundance of albite, a white feldspar. Depending upon the amount of iron rich minerals present, diorite can range from nearly white to quite dark. Diorite has the same mineral content as andesite. 8. gabbro Gabbro is a dark, coarse-grained igneous rock. It has the same mineral content as basalt, but the grains in gabbro are visible to the naked eye. mixed grain sizes (large and small) 9. porphyry The term porphyry simply refers to the two distinctly different grain sizes present in an igneous rock. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts and the finer crystals are the groundmass. The groundmass can be rhyolite, andesite, or basalt and even, rarely, granite. The phenocrysts are often feldspar crystals or hornblende crystals. very large grain size (larger than 1/2 inch) 10. pegmatite Pegmatite is very coarsely crystallized. Some of the largest crystals in the world have been found in pegmatites. Pegmatites often have the same mineral composition of granites with large crystals of mica and feldspar. Gem minerals, such as tourmaline and beryl are found in pegmatites. SEDIMENTARY ROCKS 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. Clastic (Fragmental) Sedimentary Rocks 1. conglomerate Conglomerate is made of rounded or semi-rounded rock fragments cemented

together. The rounding of the fragments implies that the fragments were transported a substantial distance from their source and were abraded in contact with other moving fragments. The rounded fragments were probably deposited along a stream channel or a shoreline. Fragments within a conglomerate are pea-sized and larger. An older name for conglomerate is "pudding stone". 2. breccia Breccia consists of angular rock fragments cemented together. The angular shape implies that the fragments have not moved far from their source. Fragments are pea-sized and larger, similar to conglomerate. Commonly, breccias are found along fault zones. Breccias can be any color. 3. sandstone Sandstone consists of sand grains that have been cemented together. Sandstones can range from coarse-grained to fine-grained. You should be able to distinguish the sand grains with the naked eye. Light-colored sandstones consisting mainly of rounded, well-sorted, quartz grains are referred to as mature sandstones or quartz sandstones. Sandstones that contain angular grains of several different minerals are referred to as immature sandstones or graywackes. Sandstones containing feldspar grains are arkoses. Sandstones can be white, gray, pink, red, brown, or black. A fresh broken surface of sandstone has a gritty feel. 4. siltstone Siltstone is made of silt-sized particles, finer than sand grains, but coarser than clay. It is a difficult rock to identify because it closely resembles a fine-grained sandstone or a coarse shale. Then general way of describing it is that you cannot see the individual grains, but the surface of siltstone has a slightly feel to it. Siltstones occur in a wide range of colors. 5. shale Shale is made of clay-sized particles or clay minerals that have compressed by the weight of overlying rocks. Generally, shale has the tendency to split in fairly flat fragments; this property is known as fissility. Shales can be many colors, such as black, gray, brown, red or gray, depending upon the presence of organic materials and iron oxides. Shales represent the accumulation of clay at the bottom of oceans or lakes. Shales are often a good source of fossils. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks 6. limestone There are dozens of forms that limestone can take, often making it visually difficult to identify. However, since limestone is made of the mineral calcite (CaCO3), it will bubble freely when strong hydrochloric acid is applied to it. Limestone varies from light gray or brown to dark gray or brown. Common forms of limestone include: coquina limestone made of broken shell fragments fossiliferrous limestone rich in fossils lithographic limestone very fine-grained and dense chalk fine-grained porous encrinal limestone made of crinoid fragments travertine deposited by surface waters (noted for its holes)

7. dolomite Dolomite looks almost exactly like calcite. There is a good reason for this similarity. Dolomite originally started out as limestone but was chemically altered at a later time by the replacement of some of its calcium by magnesium. When hydrochloric acid is applied to dolomite, it fizzes (produces bubbles) at a much slower rate than limestone (calcite). 8. gypsum Gypsum is the name of both the mineral and rock, although there have been attempts to separate the two by calling the rock gypstone. Gypsum is softer than your fingernail and can be scratched or bruised easily. It does not taste like salt and it does not fizz when hydrochloric acid is applied to it. Gypsum is usually white or a pale reddish-brown when stained by iron oxide. Gypsum is baked at high temperatures to drive water out of its chemical structure and then ground to a fine powder to produce plaster of Paris. 9. salt Salt is the mineral halite (NaCl) that was deposited by the evaporation of a body of salt water. Typically, salt is white or colorless, but it might also be lightly colored by the inclusion of iron oxide or clay. Salt can easily be identified by its salty taste, but it is generally not recommended to lick strange rocks. Salt is water soluble, producing a melted-looking surface when it is washed off with water. It can also be identified by the cubical cleavage of halite (salt). 10. chert Chert is chemically deposited cryptocrystalline quartz, usually a dull gray or brown in color. It is commonly found as nodules embedded in limestone which project out of the limestone as the limestone is slowly dissolved by rainwater. If the chert has a waxy luster rather than a dull surface, it is called flint. Flint also tends to chip with conchoidal fractures better than chert; it is this property that allows flint to be made into arrowheads. Jasper is chert that is colored red, reddish brown, or bright yellowish brown. Biological Sedimentary Rocks 11. coal Coal represents the accumulation of decomposed plant materials. Coal is sorted by the degree of alteration and compaction of the original organic materials. The least altered material is peat, followed by lignite, then bituminous coal, and finally anthracite. In peat, you can still see an abundance of the original organic materials. Lignite is called soft, brown coal. Bituminous coal is black, and somewhat waxy-looking. Anthracite is hard, black coal. Peat has the lowest level of carbon content and anthracite has the highest. Coal is less dense than normal rocks. 12. amber Amber is ancient, hardened tree sap. It is a natural plastic and it is light-weight. When you first pick it up, your first impression is that it is much lighter in weight than a typical stone. Unworked amber has a dull surface marked by a myriad of minute fractures. The clear, inner amber can only be exposed by chipping off a corner of the stone or grinding of the surface. Amber ranges from a creamy yellow to ransparent yellow or red to a dark brown. Amber is famous for preserving

trapped insects for millions of years.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS The metamorphics get their name from "meta" (change) and "morph" (form). Any rock can become a metamorphic rock. All that is required is for the rock to be moved into an environment in which the minerals which make up the rock become unstable and out of equilibrium with the new environmental conditions. In most cases, this involves burial which leads to a rise in temperature and pressure. The metamorphic changes in the minerals always move in a direction designed to restore equilibrium. Common metamorphic rocks include slate, schist, gneiss, and marble. Foliated (Layered) Metamorphic Rocks 1. slate Slate is metamorphosed shale. Slate is tougher than shale and it breaks into thin, flat layers. Slate is usually dark gray, but it can also be red colored. Slate has been used in some countries as roofing and more recently, it has been utilized as floor tiles. 2. phyllite Phyllite is metamorphosed slate.It is still foliated (layered), but unlike slate, the layers are not completely flat but have a slightly undulating pattern. Phyllite also has a slightly silky appearance due to the growth of tiny mica plates oriented parallel to the foliation. 3. schist Schist is metamorphosed phyllite. The mica crystals in schists are larger than those in phyllites and so schists tend to distinctly sparkle. Mica schists often also contain garnet crystals or staurolite crystals, producing a bumpy surface. Schists might also be made of talc, kyanite, pyrophyllite, chlorite, or sillimanite. 4. gneiss Gneiss is metamorphosed schist. It is a highly metamorphosed that is almost a granite. It differs from schist due to the lenses of feldspar between the mica layers. The minerals in gneiss may occur either as layers (foliation) or elongated in one direction (lineation). Intensely crumpled layers are another means of identifying gneiss. Non-Foliated Metamorphic Rocks 5. marble Marble is metamorphosed limestone. In the process of being metamorphosed, the limestone is recrystallized, creating a change in color and texture and the destruction of included fossils. There are hundreds of recognized commercial marble with a wide range of colors and patterns. However, since marble is calcite, it still bubbles vigorously when strong hydrochloric acid is applied to it. The gray streaks in typical marble are made up of graphite. Marble can range from white to pink to brown, and even black. Limestones that have broken by tectonic forces as they are being metamorphosed

produce brecciated marbles. Cut and polished marble is used for statues and flooring. 6. quartzite Quartzite is metamorphosed sandstone. It is often difficult to distinguish it from a sandstone that has been cemented by quartz. The sand grains in quartzite are so tightly cemented together than when a rock of quartzite is broken in half. the break actually cuts the individual sand grains. 7. serpentine The name serpentine is used for both a mineral and a metamorphic rock. It is formed by the metamorphic transformation of olivine and pyroxene to the serpentine mineral group. Serpentine varies from a light green to a dark green color with veins and fractures. It strongly resembles some varieties of jade. It is used for flooring and tabletops. 8. hornfels Hornfels is a non-foliated, baked rock that is formed by contact metamorphism. The color, grain size, and mineral composition shows wide variation. Colors can range from a light gray to a dark black. The darkest colored varieties of hornfels may have have originally been dark shales, siltstones, or even basalt.

References: http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/geoQuerry13.html http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/GLG101/GLG101-igneous-rocks.htm http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/GLG101/GLG101-sedimentary-rocks.htm http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/GLG101/GLG101-metamorphic-rocks.htm