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rocks
B Y J O H N C A R L S E N C I N A
STRATIFIED ROCKS
SANDSTONE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION SANDSTONE
GEOLOGY
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock made from
M ost sandstone is composed of
sediment particles (clasts) of minerals and
quartz and/or feldspar because these
fragments of rock. More precisely, sand is
are the most common minerals in
between 1/16 millimeter and 2 mm in size
the Earth's crust.Sandstone can
(silt is finer and gravel is coarser).
range from thinly stratified fine-
grained "muddy" sandstones to
cross-stratified medium-grained
sandstones to nonstratified. Like
sand, sandstone may be any colour,
but the most common colours are
tan, brown, yellow, red (hematite),
gray (calcite), pink, white (quartz)
and black (pyrite).
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STRATIFIED ROCKS
LIMESTONE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION LIMESTONE
GEOLOGY
L imestone is by definition a rock L imestone is a sedimentary rock composed primarily of
that contains at least 50% calcium calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral
carbonate in the form of calcite by calcite. It most commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow
weight. All limestones contain at marine waters. It is usually an organic sedimentary rock
least a few percent other materials. that forms from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal,
These can be small particles of and fecal debris. It can also be a chemical sedimentary
quartz, feldspar, clay minerals, pyrite, rock formed by the precipitation of calcium carbonate
siderite, and other minerals. It can from lake or ocean water.
also contain large nodules of chert,
pyrite, or siderite.The calcium
carbonate content of limestone
gives it a property that is often used
in rock identification - it effervesces
in contact with a cold solution of 5%
hydrochloric acid.
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STRATIFIED ROCKS
SHALE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
GRANITE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
BASALT
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
GNEISS
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
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FOLIATED ROCKS
SCHIST
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
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ARGILLACEOUS ROCKS
SLATE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
SLATE GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION S late is a fine-grained, foliated metamorphic rock this is
created via the alteration of shale or mudstone by
means of low-grade local metamorphism. It is famous
S late is particularly composed of
the minerals quartz and muscovite for a extensive form of makes use of such as roofing,
or illite, frequently along with biotite, floors, and flagging due to its sturdiness and appealing
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ARGILLACEOUS ROCKS
LATERITE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
LATERITE GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION L aterite, soil layer that is rich in iron oxide and derived
from a wide variety of rocks weathering under strongly
T ypical laterite is porous and oxidizing and leaching conditions. It forms in tropical
claylike. It contains the iron oxide and subtropical regions where the climate is humid.
minerals goethite, HFeO2; Lateritic soils may contain clay minerals; but they tend
lepidocrocite, FeO(OH); and to be silica-poor, for silica is leached out by waters
hematite, Fe2O3. It also contains passing through the soil.
titanium oxides and hydrated oxides
of aluminum, the most common
and abundant of which is gibbsite,
Al2O3·3H2O. The aluminum-rich
representative of laterite is bauxite.
Laterite is frequently pisolitic
(pealike). Exposed surfaces are
blackish-brown to reddish and
commonly have a slaggy, or
scoriaceous, lavalike appearance.
Commonly lighter in colour (red,
yellow, and brown) where freshly
broken, it is generally soft when
freshly quarried but hardens on
exposure.
Laterite is not uniquely identified LOCATION
with any particular parent rock,
geologic age, single method of
formation, climate per se, or
WHERE TO FIND LATERITE?
geographic location. It is a rock S ome of the oldest and most highly deformed ultramafic rocks which underwent
product that is a response to a set of laterization are found in the complex Precambrian shields in Brazil and Australia.
physiochemical conditions, which Smaller highly deformed Alpine-type intrusives have formed laterite profiles in
include an iron-containing parent Guatemala, Colombia, Central Europe, India and Burma. Large thrust sheets of Mesozoic
rock, a well-drained terrain, island arcs and continental collision zones underwent laterization in New Caledonia,
abundant moisture for hydrolysis Cuba, Indonesia and the Philippines. Laterites reflect past weathering conditions;
during weathering, relatively high laterites which are found in present-day non-tropical areas are products of former
oxidation potential, and persistence geological epochs, when that area was near the equator. Present-day laterite occurring
of these conditions over thousands outside the humid tropics are considered to be indicators of climatic change,
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CALCAREOUS ROCKS
MARBLE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
MARBLE GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when
limestone is subjected to the heat and pressure of
U nder the conditions of metamorphism. It is composed primarily of the mineral
metamorphism, the calcite in the calcite (CaCO3) and usually contains other minerals,
limestone recrystallizes to form a such as clay minerals, micas, quartz, pyrite, iron oxides,
rock that is a mass of interlocking and graphite.
calcite crystals. A related rock,
dolomitic marble, is produced when
dolostone is subjected to heat and
pressure.
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CALCAREOUS ROCKS
DOLOMITE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
DOLOMITE GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION I s an important rock-forming mineral that named is
French mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu. It is a
D olomite is the main constituent colorless to white, pale brown, grayish, reddish, or pink
in dolomite rocks and dolomitic mineral. Its crystals are commonly rhombohedral or
marbles. It occurs as a replacement tabular, often have curved faces, and sometimes cluster
deposit in limestone affected by in saddle-shaped aggregates. Dolomite may be striated
magnesium-bearing solutions, in talc horizontally and twinned. Some crystals may be up to 2
schists, and in other magnesium-rich in (5 cm) long. It can also be coarse to fine granular,
metamorphic rocks. Dolomite is massive, and, rarely, fibrous.
found in hydrothermal veins
associated with lead, zinc, and
copper ores. It is also found in
altered, silica-poor igneous rocks, in
some carbonatites, and in
serpentinites. Crystals of dolomite
frequently form in cavities in
limestone and marble.
Formed by diagenesis or
hydrothermal metasomatism of
limestone; a primary phase in
hypersaline sedimentary
environments; a major component LOCATION
of some contact metamorphic rocks
and marbles; a gangue in
hydrothermal veins; in carbonatites
WHERE TO FIND DOLOMITE?
and ultramafic rocks. A major rock-forming mineral, abundant worldwide with numerous commercial uses.
Some localities for fine examples include:In Italy, from Traversella and Brosso,
Piedmont.Exceptional crystals from Eugui, Navarra Province, Spain.At Trieben and Hall,
Tirol, Austria. From Freiberg and Schneeberg, Saxony, Germany.At Lengenbach, Binntal,
Switzerland. From Trepca, Serbia, Yugoslavia. At Frizington, Cumbria, England.In the
Vuoriyarvi carbonatite complex, Kola Peninsula, Russia.Fine crystals from Brumado,
Bahia, and in the Morro Velho gold mine, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil.At Naica,
Chihuahua, Mexico.In the USA, in New York, from Lockport, Niagara Co., eastward to
Walworth, Wayne Co.; at Stony Point, Alexander Co., North Carolina; in the Mississippi
Valley region, in the Tri-State district, at Joplin, Jasper Co., Missouri; Galena, Cherokee Co.,
Kansas; and Picher, Ottawa Co., Oklahoma.
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SILICEOUS ROCKS
CHERT
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
CHERT GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION C hert is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of
quartz (SiO2) that is microcrystalline or
C hert is in most cases a biogenic cryptocrystalline quartz. It is usually organic rock but
rock, it is made of siliceous tests of also occur inorganically as a chemical precipitate or a
diatoms, radiolarians, siliceous diagenetic replacement. It occurs as nodules,
sponge spicules, etc. Sometimes concretionary masses, and as layered deposits.
microscopic fossilized remains of
these sea creatures may be
preserved in these rocks. Their
siliceous tests are not made of
quartz initially, but after burial,
compaction, and diagenesis, opaline
siliceous sediments transform to
quartz. Although the material it is
made of ultimately came from
siliceous tests of marine species, the
rock itself is often not deposited in
situ. It may move as a silica-rich
liquid and form nodules in rocks by
replacing the original (usually
carbonate) material. So It is also
sometimes said to be a rock of
chemogenic origin. Bedded variety LOCATION
seems to be often associated with
turbidity currents.
Chert breaks with a conchoidal
WHERE TO FIND CHERT?
fracture, often producing very sharp B edded cherts may form by compaction and recrystallization of silica-rich biogenic
edges. Early people took advantage sediments made of opaline tests of single-cell organisms (diatoms, radiolaria) or remains
of how chert breaks and used it to of silicious sponges, both in marine and in lake environments.
fashion cutting tools and weapons. Oldershaw 1968; Calvert 1971; Lancelot 1973; Hein et al 1981; Pisciotto 1981; Riech 1981;
"Chert" and "flint" are names used for Levitan 1983; Jones et al 1986; Compton 1991; Calvert 1971; Thurston 1972; Pollock 1987;
the same material. Both are varieties Hesse 1989; Sugitani et al 1998; Rosière et al 2000; Maliva et al 2005; Fisher et al 2008;
of chalcedony. Knauth 1994; Buurman et al 1971; Meyers 1977; Bustillo et al 1987; Maliva et al 1989; Knauth
1994; Madsen et al 2010
Magadi-type cherts, named after their occurrence at Lake Magadi, Kenya, form by
leaching of alkali ions from silicates in silica-rich evaporites (Hay 1968; Eugster 1969).
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SILICEOUS ROCKS
QUARTZITE
GEOLOGY
GEOLOGY
QUARTZITE GEOLOGY
DESCRIPTION Q uartzite is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock composed
almost entirely of quartz. It forms when a quartz-rich
W hen sandstone is cemented to sandstone is altered by the heat, pressure, and
quartzite, the character quartz grains chemical activity of metamorphism. These conditions
recrystallize along with the former recrystallize the sand grains and the silica cement that
cementing cloth to form an binds them together. The result is a network of
interlocking mosaic of quartz interlocking quartz grains of incredible strength.
crystals.Most or all of the unique
texture and sedimentary structures
of the sandstone are erased through
the metamorphism. The grainy,
sandpaper-like surface turns into
glassy in look.Minor amounts of
former cementing substances, iron
oxide, silica, carbonate and clay,
often migrate during recrystallization
and metamorphosis. This causes
streaks and lenses to shape in the
quartzite.
Quartzite is metamorphosed
sandstone. It is dominated by quartz, LOCATION
and in many cases, the original
quartz grains of the sandstone are
welded together with additional
WHERE TO FIND QUARTZITE?
silica. Most sandstone contains some I n the United States, formations of quartzite can be found in some parts of
clay minerals and may also include Pennsylvania, the Washington DC area, eastern South Dakota, Central Texas, southwest
other minerals such as feldspar or Minnesota, Devil’s Lake State Park in the Baraboo Range in Wisconsin, the Wasatch
fragments of rock, so most quartzite Range in Utah near Salt Lake City, Utah
has some impurities with the quartz. In the United Kingdom, Cambrian “Hartshill quartzite” (Nuneaton area In Wales,
Holyhead mountain and most of Holy island off Anglesey sport excellent Precambrian
quartzite crags and cliffs. In the Scottish Highlands, several mountains composed of
Cambrian quartzite can be found in the far north-west
In continental Europe, various regionally isolated quartzite deposits exist at surface level
in a belt from the Rhenish Massif and the German Central Highlands into the Western
Czech Republic, for example in the Taunus and Harz mountains. In Poland quartzite
deposits at surface level exists in Świętokrzyskie Mountains.
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