Example of Different Types of

Rocks
Important igneous rocks
GABBRO
This is a mafic
igneous
intrusive rock.

Mafic igneous rocks typically have mixtures of pyroxene [black arrows, as well
as the yellow arrows highlighting a megacryst] and calcium-rich plagioclase
feldspar, which shows up in this specimen as dark green crystals [blue arrows]
that are nevertheless lighter than pyroxene.
DIORITE
This speckled
coarse-grained
specimen is an
intermediate
composition
igneous intrusive
rock.

With intermediate composition, the Mg+Fe content of the magma is now tied
up in the crystallization of the black minerals biotite [more so in this
specimen] and amphibole. The white mineral is plagioclase feldspar, and
there is minor clear, glassy quartz [purple arrows].
GRANITE – This is a felsic intrusive rock.

The coarse grain size and variety of minerals makes granite an attractive choice
for building stone, and less happily, grave markers as well. The most abundant
mineral is yellowish potassium feldspar [turquoise arrows], followed by grey
glassy quartz [mauve arrows], then black, relatively dull amphibole [no
arrows], and finally shiny black biotite [green arrows].
GRANITE – yet again.

In comparison with the previous specimens, this example of granite has pink
potassium feldspar [turquoise arrows; note the well-developed cleavage
faces], much less quartz [mauve arrows], much more amphibole, and more
biotite [green arrows] as well. It might not technically be a granite [too little
quartz, using rigorous classification schemes], but the name will do for our
purposes.
GRANITE
This is a sample
of the Kuskanax
Intrusion, in the
Canadian
Cordillera,
recovered from
Nakusp, BC.
Such boulders
are abundant.

This granite is much more fine-grained than the previous examples, and at
first glance is dominated by yellowish potassium feldspar. However, there is
substantial quartz content [mauve arrows], whose presence is masked by the
feldspar. The black grains are amphibole.
GRANITE
This very coarse-
grained granite
may be a
pegmatite,
depending on
the minimum
grain size
required to apply
such a term.

Again we have potassium feldspar, mostly yellow, with some turquoise grains
of amazonite, a potassium feldspar variant [turquoise arrows]. Quartz [mauve
arrows] shows up as typical grey, glassy grains without any cleavage faces.
The flaky black grains are biotite.
BASALT
This typically
dark, mafic to
ultramafic
volcanic rock is
apparently
featureless. The
presence of
olivine suggests
it is ultramafic.

The dark colour suggests this is mafic, and we note the occasional green glint
from slightly larger olivine crystals [green arrows]. Olivine is found only in
ultramafic and mafic rocks, rarely with plagioclase but frequently with
pyroxene, which we therefore surmise is also present.
BASALT – With or Without Useful Clues

As with the previous image, the sample on the left exhibits a few slightly larger
olivine crystals [green arrows], and probably has pyroxene as the other
mineral. In the right sample, the purple arrows point to amygdules, which are
minerals precipitated in once-empty vesicles. Given that they may have
formed well after the lava cooled, and be unrelated to it, they are no indicator
of the lava’s composition.
BASALT – Clues in Vesicular Basalts

The scoria, or scoriaceous basalt, on the left has a few clues to its chemistry.
Many of the vesicles have a lining of pale pea-green material [green arrows]
often derived from the weathering of olivine, and the iron content is
confirmed by the reddish-brown oxidized (rusted) weathered surface [red
arrows]. The right sample has obvious olivine crystals, perhaps phenocrysts,
but no lining to the vesicles.
BASALT – Pillow Basalt from a Mid-Ocean Ridge

Submarine eruption of basalt lavas leads to very rapid cooling of the exterior
surface, to produce a flexible skin that contains the lava. Successive eruptions
look like a stack of pillows, with rounded, convex upper surfaces. On the left
we see the fresh surface (broken and also cut with a rock saw) with the yellow
arrows pointing to the rapidly weathered exposed surface, seen on the right.
RHYOLITE
The lighter colour
is indicative of
the felsic
composition of
this extrusive
rock, though we
cannot
distinguish the
minerals.

We expect, based on its felsic composition, that it would have quartz and
potassium feldspar, and perhaps some mafic mineral content. The black spots
[red arrows] are in fact not mafic minerals, but small blobs of black volcanic
glass, or obsidian, which itself is felsic.
RHYOLITE
This would
normally be
called pumice, a
term that
describes the
texture rather
than being a
proper rock name
used in
classification.

It represents a case in which gas-rich felsic lava has turned into a sort of sticky
froth that has eventually hardened. Flow of this taffy-like material has
produced many glassy strands spanning the vesicles [blue arrows]. It is
otherwise like the previous sample.
OBSIDIAN
This rock would
have erupted as a
rhyolite lava in the
form of pumice,
then collapsed.
Rocks have
minerals, which are
crystalline, yet this
is felsic volcanic
glass, and is an
exception to the
basis for colour
index.
There are no mafic minerals (or, technically, any other for that matter), so this
rock has a Colour Index of zero, even though it is completely black on the
fresh surface. The brown weathered surface is a clue to the presence of iron,
dispersed through the glass to make it black.
Sedimentary Rock Examples
Shale made from small
sediments, clay and silt

Conglomerate
Sandstone made from made from large
medium sediment, sand sediments, pebbles
 Sedimentary Rock Examples

Bituminous Coal,
Limestone found
in Harrisonburg, used
fossil fuel burned for buildings, contains
for energy, organic calcite, dissolves in
acid =caves
 Shale
Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that
forms from the compaction of silt and clay-size
mineral particles that we commonly call
"mud." This composition places shale in a
category of sedimentary rocks known as
"mudstones." Shale is distinguished from other
mudstones because it is fissile and laminated.
"Laminated" means that the rock is made up of
many thin layers. "Fissile" means that the rock
readily splits into thin pieces along the
laminations.
 Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of
sand-size grains of mineral, rock, or organic
material. It also contains a cementing material
that binds the sand grains together and may
contain a matrix of silt- or clay-size particles
that occupy the spaces between the sand
grains.
 Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed
primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the
form of the mineral calcite. It most commonly
forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters. It
is usually an organic sedimentary rock that
forms from the accumulation of shell, coral,
algal, and fecal debris. It can also be a chemical
sedimentary rock formed by the precipitation
of calcium carbonate from lake or ocean water.
 Conglomerate
Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary
rock that contains large (greater than two
millimeters in diameter) rounded clasts. The
space between the clasts is generally filled with
smaller particles and/or
a calcite or quartz cement that binds the rock
together.
 Coal
 buried and compacted plant material
different kinds of coal, depending on formation process
major fuel for power plants
 70% of coal usage: electricity
 many problems: pollution, health, wastelands
 lots more available
 formation: swamps
Stages of coal formation

PEAT

LIGNITE

BITUMINOUS

ANTHRACITE
Coal is a sedimentary rock

Compaction

Cementation

Heat and Pressure

 Importance of Metamorphic rocks-
 SLATES
 Fine grained impermeable, cleavable and soft
 Incompetent; cannot withstand great loads
 But since they are impermeable and split easily; thin large sized slabs of
uniform thickness can be extracted for roofing purpose.
 Economic importance: Since they are bad conductor of electricity– used in
electrical industries for switch board base
 GNEISS
 Gneissic rocks are rich in SILICA i.e. predominantly Quartz and
Feldspars along with garnet, pyroxene, Hornblende etc.
 Non-porous and impermeable nature increases the strength of the
rock
 Foliated character to some extend improves workability
 Load perpendicular to foliated planes gives more stronger foundation
SCHIST
Mainly composed of prismatic or platy minerals, which contributes in
development of Schistose Structure. Eg. Hornblende, tourmaline, sillimanite
etc (prismatic); chlorite, muscovite, biotite, talc, kyanite etc. (platy)
Cleavable nature of Schists is the main reason for their weakness; they are
incompetent
 MARBLE
 Latin word “Marmor”– Shining stone.
 Calcareous metamorphic rock
 Though it shows granulose structure it is not as hard as Quartzite because
of its Calcareous composition; but can withstand reasonable load.
 Due to its pleasant colour and brilliant appearance when polished it is
extensively used as building stone.

Calcite