The Rock Cycle!
Hello! This is our website about the rock cycle. Here you will learn about different types of rocks, the rock cycle, compaction, cementation, and more. Below we have lots of cool photos and links to their creator's website so you can check them out. We hope you enjoy.
This moving explanation of The Rock Cycle is from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/meta_intro.html
We got this image from http://www.public.asu.edu/~edimaggi/EducationOutreach.html
This really cool picture of Obsidian is from http://library.thinkquest.org/J002289/igneous.html
The Rock Cycle is the cycle in which certain types of rocks turn into other types of rocks. The first type of rock is Igneous Rock. Igneous rock is a rock that is formed from cooling magma. The Igneous Rocks can be extrusive or intrusive. Extrusive Igneous Rocks are Igneous Rocks that are formed on the surface. Intrusive Igneous Rocks are rocks that form when magma cools under the crust. When Igneous Rocks are weathered and eroded, they turn in to sediment, or tiny rock particles. This sediment goes through a process of compaction and cementation (which is really just a process of pressure and sticking) and turns into Sedimentary Rock.
This example of deposition, compaction and cementation is from http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/earth/html/lecture13.html
Some examples of Sedimentary Rock are Shale, Sandstone, and Puddingstone. There are three types of Sedimentary Rocks; Clastic Rocks, Organic Rocks, and Chemical Rocks. Clastic Rocks are made when tiny shards of rock are squeezed together. Organic Rocks form when the remains of living things are deposited in thick layers. Chemical Rocks form when minerals dissolve in water. For example, Gypsum dissolved in calcite that is in lakes is a chemical rock.
This image is from http://www.oldearth.org/curriculum/geology/geology_chapter_6.htm
The last main type of rock is Metamorphic Rocks. Metamorphic Rocks are rocks that changed from one type of rock to another. They change when they undergo extremities like very high temperatures. Metamorphic rocks can look like mixes of Sedimentary and Igneous rocks. This is because they eventually go through the process of both rocks.
This image of a Metamorphic Rock is from http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/meta_intro.html
These awesome pet rocks are from http://ingoldthoughts.wordpress.com/tag/pet-rocks/
Different Textures
Different rocks can have different textures. They can be fine-grained, glassy, porphyritic, or coarse-grained. Fine-Grained-Rocks are made when lava cools rapidly. This texture will contain small crystals. Coarse-Grained-Rocks are made when lava cools very slowly. Coarse-Grained rocks will have large crystals. Glassy rocks look like the name entails, like glass. The last texture is porphyritic (pawr fuh RIT ik). Porphyritic rocks are rocks with large crystals dispersed on a background of more miniature crystals.
This concludes all the info on The Rock Cycle. We hope you enjoyed and learned a lot!
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