ROCKS AND

THE ROCK CYCLE

 INTRODUCTION


A rock by a simple definition, is a solidwith more than one

 component of a mineral or mineraloid.


A single crystal is not a rock, but two crystals that are joined
together,
 even if they are the same mineral, are technically a

rock.


Generally rocks are considered to only be natural objects

but sometimes man-made substances are included as rock
 IMPORTANCE OF ROCKS

In general terms, rocks are important because they influence,

 
The general character of the landscape
 
 The development of particular landforms
 
 The nature and qualities of soils
 
 The occurrence of mineral wealth
 
 The availability of building materials

 
The quality and quantity of surface and sub-surface water supplies.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS


The rocks have been subdivided into three main


classed: 1. Igneous rock



2. Sedimentary rock

3. Metamorphic rock
 IGNEOUS ROCK

The term igneous comes from the Latin igneous, meaning “fire”.
The name is given to rocks formed at very high temperatures (625
to 1200 degrees) , crystallized from a molten silicate material
 known as magma.

If the magma cools and hardens inside the earth it is called “intrusive”
 rock. These rocks cool slowly and have large crystals.

If the magma comes out of the earth’s crust through a volcano, it is
 rock. It cools off quickly, and the crystals that form
called “extrusive”
 are very small.

Molten, or hot, liquid rock is called magma when it is still inside
the
earth, but once it comes out through a volcano it is called Lava.
INTRUSIVE AND EXTRUSIVE ROCK

EXTRUSIVE ROCK

INTRUSIVE
INTRUSIVE AND EXTRUSIVE ROCK
CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCK
A. On the basis of the composition of the magma:
i) Acid magma: It is rich in Si, Na, K and poor in Ca, Mg and
Fe.
In general, acid igneous rocks are light in colour, low in
specific gravity (2.7), and have high proportion of minerals
like quartz, feldspar and some mica. An example of acid
rock is granite.
i) Basic magma: It is rick in Ca, Mg and Fe, and poor in Si,
Na and K.
Basic rocks, on the other hand are usually dark in color,
relatively high in specific gravity (3.2), and have high
proportion of minerals like augite, hornblende, and iron ore.
An example of basic rock is basalt.
CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCK

B. On the basis of mode of occurrence:

i) Plutonic rocks: Plutonic rocks are formed when magma cools slowly
at great depth with the retention of the volatiles.

ii) Volcanic rocks: Volcanic rocks are formed when the magma erupts
at the earth’s surface and cools rapidly.

iii) Hypabyssal rocks: hypabyssal rocks are formed when consolidation

of magma takes place very close to the earth’s surface.
CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCK

C. On the basis of Textures (The size, shape, and pattern of the rock’s
grain):
i) Glassy- Instantaneous cooling; Obsidian.
ii) Aphanite- Fine grain size (<1 mm); result of quick cooling- Basalt.
iii) Phaneritic- Coarse grain size; visible grains (1-10mm), result of slow
cooling- Granite.
iv) Pegmatite- Very large crystals (many over 2cm)- Pegmatite Granite.
v) Porphyritic- Mixture of grain sized caused by mixed cooling history, slow
cooling first, followed by a period of somewhat faster cooling-Porphyritic
Granite.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF IGNEOUS BODIES

BATHOLITHS:
 
A batholith (from Greek bathos, depth + lithos, rock) is a large mass
of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than 100 square
kilometres (40 sq. mi) in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in the
Earth's crust.

A batholith is an exposed area of (mostly) continuous plutonic rock that
covers an area larger than 100 square km (40 square miles). Areas smaller
than 100 square km are called stocks. However, the majority of batholiths
visible at the surface (via outcroppings) have areas far greater than 100
square km. These areas are exposed to the surface through the process of
erosion accelerated by continental uplift acting over many tens of millions to
hundreds of millions of years. This process has removed several tens of
square km of overlying rock in many areas, exposing the once deeply buried
batholiths.
STOCK AND BOSS


A stock is a small Batholith. Its area of outcrop is less than 100 sq km. A stock having a
circular outcrop (a rock formation that is visible on  the surface) is called a boss. Most
stocks are probably the cupolas of hidden batholiths.
LAPOLITH

It is a lenticular (biconvex) igneous
body which is bent or sagged
downward into a basin like shape
LACCOLITH


Laccoliths are plano-convex intrusive igneous bodies which cause the
overlying beds to arch in the form of a dome. A laccolith may be 2 to 3
 from
km in diameter and several hundred meters in thickness. It differs
a batholith in being much smaller and having a known floor.
LACCOLITH
PHACOLITHS


Phacoliths are intrusions of igneous rockswhich occupy crests and troughs of folded
strata. It is a typically lens-shaped pluton
SILL


A sill is a sheet like igneous body which runs parallel to the bedding of the enclosing
 or vertical depending upon the attitude of the
rock. They may be horizontal, inclined,
strata in which they are intruded.
Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh, Scotland, a sill partially exposed during the ice ages
Sill
DYKE


A dyke is a more or less vertical wall-like igneous body that cuts across
the bedding of the country rocks. The thickness of a dyke may vary from
a few centimetres to a hundred meter or more.
DYKE
 VOLCANIC NECK OR PLUG

A volcanic neck or plug is a vertical intrusion of igneous mass which has a
roughly oval circular cross section. It represents the vent of an extinct
 volcano.

A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic

object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano.
volcano.

Volcanic plug Volcanic plug in the Ochoco Taung Kalat, Burma.

nearRhumsiki, Cameroon. National Forestof Oregon, USA.
 USES OF COMMON INGEOUS ROCK


Granites are extensively used as building stones for structural as well
as decorative monumental and architectural purposes. They are the
strongest available stones. Poor various of granites are used as road
 materials.

Uses of syenite are similar to those of granites. But because  of the rarity of
 syenite it is of little commercial use as structural material.

Diorites have been used  more for crushed stone and for monumental and also
 decorative purposes.

Gabbros are used though on a limited scale, for all types of structural
polish and can, therefore, be used for
work. They can take fine
 monumental purposes.
 
The Hawaiian Island and most of the ocean floor are made up of Basalt.
SEDIMENTARY ROCK


Sedimentary rocks are formed by the deposition and consolidation  of
‘New Sediments’, in layers, over the pre-existing rocks. The new
sediments are, in fact, eroded away from some old rocks by weathering,
and are then transported by agents like wind, water, ice, etc. these
eroded sediments after traveling some distance, may get deposited over
some existing rocks, which on consolidation will result in the formation of
what are known as sedimentary rocks.
PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

1. Stratification and Bedding:

a. Rhythmic Layering: Alternating parallel layers having different
properties. Sometimes caused by seasonal changes in deposition
(Varves (A varve is an annual layer of sediment or sedimentary rock)), i.e.,
lake deposits wherein coarse sediment is deposited in summer months and
fine sediment is deposited in the winter when the surface of the lake is
frozen. This is one of the few instances in geology where it is possible to
physically count numbers of years in a rock.
 PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK
B. Cross Bedding: Sets of beds that are inclined relative to one another. The beds
are inclined in the direction that the wind or water was moving at the time of
deposition. Cross bedding consists of small layers that are deposited at an angle
to the main beds. These are developed in the transportation of sediments by
wind or water. The sediments as transported by wind, these moves down slope
and is thus at an angle to the main beds. Same is the case with the water where
water moving down slope deposits sediments at an angle to the main bed. Cross
bedding is common in sands deposited by wind, streams, ocean currents and
wind on beaches.
PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

C. Graded Bedding: As current velocity decreases, first the larger or more

dense particles are deposited followed by smaller particles. This results in
bedding showing a decrease in grain size from the bottom of the bed to the
top of the bed.

(King George IV Lake area,

central Newfoundland).
PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

D. Non-sorted Sediment - Sediment showing a mixture of grain sizes

results from such things as rock falls, mudflows, and deposition from
melting ice.
 PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

2. Surface Features:
A. Ripple Marks: Ripple marks are the small ridges which are developed by
the wind or water. These contains of crest and trough just like sand waves or
dunes (hill of sand ) but are at a small scale. These gives the movement
direction of the water or wind. If the movement is in a single direction then the
ripple marks are asymmetrical and when the movement is to and fro like a
pendulum then the marks will be symmetrical.
PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

B. Mud cracks: result from the drying out of wet sediment at the surface of
the Earth. The cracks form due to shrinkage of the sediment as it dries.
PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

C. Raindrop Marks: pits (or tiny craters) created by falling rain. If

present, this suggests that the sediment was exposed to the
surface of the Earth.
 PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

D. Fossils - Remains of once living organisms. Probably the most

important indicator of the environment of deposition.
  
Different species usually inhabit specific environments.

 Because life
 has evolved - fossils give clues to relative age of the
sediment.
 
Can also be important indicators of past climates.
 PYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCK

3. Color:

 Iron oxides and sulfides along with buried organic matter
color. Indicates deposition in a reducing environment.
 give rocks a dark
 
Deposition in oxidizing environment produces red colored iron oxides.
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS


Clastic Sedimentary Rock- sedimentary rocks made of broken
 fragments of other rocks.


Chemical Sedimentary Rock- Sedimentary rocks made from the ions
and salts taken into solution in the weathering process, dissolved
materials are transported to lakes and oceans where they become

 concentrated and they accumulate as solid minerals


Organic Sedimentary Rocks- sedimentary rocks that have large 
amounts of the remains on once-living things, also known as fossils..
METAMORPHISM

Metamorphism is defined as a process or phenomenon by which the

existing rocks are modified texturally, structurally, and mineralogically
under the influence of factors, such as, such as, heat, pressure, and hot
chemically active fluids, such as water.

1. Heat: Heat is an important agent in the metamorphic modification of

rock. Rocks began to change chemically at temperatures above 200o
Celsius. At these temperatures, the crystalline structure of the minerals in
the rock are broken down and transformed using different combinations of
the available elements and compounds. If rocks are heated to the point
where they become magma the magma when cooled creates new igneous
rocks.
METAMORPHISM
2.Pressure: Rocks that buried are subjected to pressure because of the weight of
overlying materials, Pressure can also be exerted on rocks due the forces
involved in a variety of tectonic processes. The most obvious effect of pressure on
rocks is the reorientation of minerals crystals.

3.Chemical Action of Fluids: Water and carbon dioxide are often found in small
amounts in the perimeter between mineral crystals or in the pore spaces of rocks.
When mixed, the resulting fluid influences metamorphism by dissolving ions and by
causing chemical reactions. Usually the end products of this process is the creation
of new minerals by the substitution, removal or addition of chemical ions.
METAMORPHIC ROCK

The new rocks, which are formed from the alteration of the pre-existing
rock of any type by the process of metamorphism are metamorphic rocks.
The igneous and sedimentary rocks when subjected to metamorphism
undergo changes that are physical, chemical or both.

For example, Slate (a metamorphic rock) formed from Shale (a

sedimentary rock) when further metamorphosed, give rise to a new
metamorphic rock called Phyllite, which in turn when again subjected to
metamorphism , give rise to Schist (another metamorphic rock).
 CLASSIFICATION OF METAMORPHIC ROCKS

On the basisof the texture, metamorphic rocks can be divided into
two groups-

1. Foliated textures show a distinct planar character. This means

that the minerals in the rock are all aligned with each other.
Foliation forms when pressure squeezes the flat or elongate
minerals within a rock so they become aligned. These rocks
develop a platy or sheet-like structure that reflects the direction
that pressure was applied in.

2. Non-foliated textures have minerals that are not aligned .

Essentially, the minerals are randomly oriented.
THE ROCK CYCLE


There exists a definite relationship among sedimentary, igneous and
metamorphic rocks, with time and changing condition, anyone of these
rock types may be changed into some other form. These relationships

form a cycle known as rock cycle.
THE ROCK CYCLE
At first, weathering attacks the solid rocks, which either have been formed by the
cooling of lava flow at the surface or are igneous rocks that were formed deep
beneath the earth surface and then were exposed by erosion. The products of
weathering are the materials that will eventually go into the creation of new rocks-
sedimentary, metamorphic and even igneous. Landslides, wind, running water
and glaciers all will help to move the materials from one place to another in the
ideal cycle, this material seeks the ocean floors where layers of soft muds, sand
and gravel are consolidated into sedimentary rocks. If the cycle continues without
interruption, these new rocks may in turn be deeply buried and subjected to heat,
to pressure caused by overlaying rocks, and to forces developed by earth
movements. The sedimentary rocks may then change in response to these new
conditions and become metamorphic rocks. If these metamorphic rocks undergo
continued and increased heat and pressure, they may eventually lose their
identity and malt into magma. When this magma cools igneous rocks are formed
again and the cycle is repeated.