ROCK IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
Ever wonder why are there different types of rocks and where does they come from? Did you know that rocks have many lives? Not obviously, but rocks can die and live again and again! As in rocks can be deformed and can be formed again.
Rocks can be differentiated based upon their characteristics and how they are formed. And these processes involved on how rocks formed are melting & cooling, weather & erosion, and heat & pressure.
Melting and cooling– rocks in the earth surfaces that subducted through the earth’s inner layer are melted to form lava. When the lava reaches the ground from a volcanic vent for example, it is now called magma. The magma will be cool down. Therefore, the magma will be solidified to form a rock. It is considered as an Igneous rock just like granite, basalt and obsidian.
Weathering and erosion– In this process, the rocks will be broken down into a sediment and will undergo under compacting and cementation that will produce a sedimentary rock like sandstone, shale and limestone.
Heat and pressure– rocks from deep under the ground becomes soft and will be squeezed. It will be foliated to form metamorphic rocks like Slate, phyllite, and gneiss.
And that’s the entire series!
Rocks goes underneath the earth’s surface and will rise again through some processes. It is also called as the rock cycle.
Igneous vs Sedimentary vs Metamorphic Rocks: What are the Differences?
Igneous rock can change into a sedimentary rock if that rock undergoes weathering and erosion as well as a metamorphic rock if heat and pressure are applied to it.
Sedimentary rock can be formed into an igneous rock if it is melted underneath the earth’s surface and cooled on the ground. It can also turn into a metamorphic rock if heat and pressure take place. Lastly, if a metamorphic rock melts and become a magma.
Once it cooled down, it will have formed into an igneous rock. Also, if a metamorphic rock undergoes weathering and erosion it will become a part of a sediment considered as sedimentary rock. You can’t really notice these rocks changes because it will take more than a human life span before it undergoes some different processes.