Classification of Rocks

Classification of Rocks
ROCK CYCLE
1. Igneous rocks are formed by
solidification and cooling of
molten materials. This process
called crystallization may
occur either beneath the
earth’s surface or following
volcanic eruption at the
surface.
2. When igneous rocks make their way to the surface,
they will be pick up, transported and deposited by any
number of erosional agents such as running water,
glaciers, wind and waves. Due to these agents, the
rocks will turn into sediments, which will be deposited,
usually as horizontal beds in the ocean and will
undergo lithification.
3. If the resulting sedimentary is buried deep within the
earth or involved in the dynamic of mountain building,
it will be subjected to great heat and pressure. The
sedimentary rock will react to changing environment
turn into the third type, metamorphic rock. When
metamorphic rock is subjected to still greater heat and
pressure, it will melt to create magma, which will
eventually solidify as igneous rock.
EXAMPLES OF IGNEOUS ROCKS
Obsidian Pumice
Scoria
Rhyolite
Granite
The texture of igneous rocks is classified into four:
Classification of Igneous Rocks
EXAMPLES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Arkose Gypsum
Sandstone
Conglomerate
Shale
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
• There are two groups of sedimentary rocks based on the source of

the material.
1. Detrital sedimentary rocks

2. Chemical sedimentary rocks
1. Detrital sedimentary rocks
formed from the accumulation of materials that
originated from pre-existing rocks and was transported
in the form of sediments as a result of mechanical and
chemical weathering.
Common examples of this rock classification include
shale (most abundant), siltstone, sandstone,
conglomerate or breccia.
Classification of detrital sedimentary rock
name
2. Chemical sedimentary rocks
• formed when the dissolved substances from pre-
existing rocks are precipitated by either
inorganic or organic processes. Precipitation may
occur directly as the result of inorganic
processes or indirectly as the result of life
processes by water dwelling organism like snails
and clams that produce Calcium carbonate and
is said to have a biochemical origin.
Common sedimentary rocks
1. Limestone is the most

abundant chemical
sedimentary rock. It is
made up of Calcium
carbonate and forms
either by inorganic means
or as the result of
biochemical processes.
“Identified Biochemical Limestone”
a. Coquina is a coarse rock

composed of poorly
cemented shells and shell
fragments.
b. Chalk is a rock made up almost entirely of hard
parts of microscopic organisms that are not longer than
the head of a pin.
c. Travertine is a form of
limestone (CaCO3) that is
deposited by hot springs or as
a cave deposit. This type of
limestone is commonly seen
decorated in caverns or as a
deposit when groundwater
containing Calcium carbonate
evaporates.
2. Microcrystalline quartz
(precipitated quartz) are very
small crystals which cannot
be seen by the naked eye.
Examples include chert (light
color), flint (dark), jasper(red)
and agate(banded)
3. Evaporites form eventually

when the water saturated with
salt evaporates but leaves the
deposit behind such as rock salt
and gypsum.
4. Coal is made up mostly of organic matter, it is the
end-product of the burial of large amounts of plant
material over extended periods. Lignite and bituminous
coals are sedimentary rocks
Examples of Metamorphic rocks
Quartzite
Gneiss
Marble
Slate
Anthracite
Metamorphic settings
1. Contact or thermal
metamorphism takes place
when the rock is intruded by
magma. Here, change is
driven by the rise in
temperature within the host
rock surrounding a molten
igneous body.
Metamorphic settings
2. Regional metamorphism
occurs when a large area is
affected due to large-scale heat
and pressure such as mountain
building. When this happens,
metamorphism produces a great
volume of metamorphic rocks.
Agents of Metamorphism
these are: (1) heat, (2) pressure or stress due to

confining pressure and differential stress during
mountain building, and (3) chemically active fluids
(mainly water and other volatiles) which promote
recrystallization by enhancing ion migration.
Metamorphic textures
1. Foliated texture results in the mineral alignment

perpendicular to the compressional force and usually
gives the rock a layered or banded appearance.
Common foliated metamorphic rock:
a. Slate is a finely grained rock composed mostly of mica and produced
through the low-grade metamorphism of shale.
b. Schist (pronounce “shists”) is a strongly foliated rock and described as
platy meaning, the rock’s crystals are thin and leaf-like". Its types are
based on composition.
c. Gneiss (pronounced “nice”) is a strong segregation of silicate minerals
and exhibits a "banded" texture (alternating layers of light and dark
minerals like granite.
Metamorphic textures
2. Non-foliated texture contains equidimensional

crystals and resembles a coarse-grained igneous rock.
Examples of non-foliated rocks are the following:
a. Marble results when limestone (parent rock) is metamorphosed.
There are large, interlocking crystals of calcite and is used as a building
stone and has variety of colors.
b. Quartzite forms from quartz sandstone (parent rock); quartz grains
are fused.

Classification of Rocks

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Classification of Rocks

• There are two groups of sedimentary rocks based on the source of

1. Detrital sedimentary rocks

1. Limestone is the most

a. Coquina is a coarse rock

3. Evaporites form eventually

these are: (1) heat, (2) pressure or stress due to

1. Foliated texture results in the mineral alignment

2. Non-foliated texture contains equidimensional

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