"Rocks" and "Stone" redirect here.

For other uses, see Rock

(disambiguation), Rocks (disambiguation), Stone (disambiguation), and
Stones (disambiguation).

The Grand Canyon is an incision through layers of sedimentary rocks.

Part of a series on

Geology

Science of the solid Earth

 Part of a series on

Geology

Science of the solid Earth

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In geology, a rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or
aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the
minerals included, its chemical composition and the way in which it is
formed. Rocks form the Earth's outer solid layer, the crust, and most of its
interior, except for the liquid outer core and pockets of magma in the
asthenosphere.
Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks,
sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. Igneous rocks are formed when
magma cools in the Earth's crust, or lava cools on the ground surface or
the seabed. Sedimentary rocks are formed by diagenesis or lithification of
sediments, which in turn are formed by the weathering, transport, and
deposition of existing rocks. Metamorphic rocks are formed when existing
rocks are subjected to such high pressures and temperatures that they are
transformed—something that occurs, for example, when continental plates
collide.[1]: 31–33, 134–139 
The scientific study of the character and origin of rocks is called petrology,
which is an essential subdiscipline of geology.[2]

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External linksClassification
See also: Formation of rocks
A balancing rock called Kummakivi (literally "strange stone")[3]
Rocks are composed primarily of grains of minerals, which are crystalline
solids formed from atoms chemically bonded into an orderly structure.[4]: 3 
Some rocks also contain mineraloids, which are rigid, mineral-like
substances, such as volcanic glass,[5]: 55, 79  that lacks crystalline structure.
The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the
manner in which it was formed.
Most rocks contain silicate minerals, compounds that include silica
tetrahedra in their crystal lattice, and account for about one-third of all
known mineral species and about 95% of the earth's crust.[6] The
proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining
their names and properties.[7]
Rock outcrop along a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica.
Rocks are classified according to characteristics such as mineral and
chemical composition, permeability, texture of the constituent particles, and
particle size. These physical properties are the result of the processes that
formed the rocks.[5] Over the course of time, rocks can be transformed from
one type into another, as described by a geological model called the rock
cycle. This transformation produces three general classes of rock: igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic.
Those three classes are subdivided into many groups. There are, however,
no hard-and-fast boundaries between allied rocks. By increase or decrease
in the proportions of their minerals, they pass through gradations from one
to the other; the distinctive structures of one kind of rock may thus be
traced, gradually merging into those of another. Hence the definitions
adopted in rock names simply correspond to selected points in a
continuously graduated series.[8]