 What is rock and how it is

formed?
 What are the different types of
rocks and how can they be
classified?

Rock
 Naturally occurring, coherent
aggregate of minerals or solid
materials such as natural gas or
organic matter.
 Found in the lithosphere (rigid,
rocky, outermost part of Earth)
 Greek word “lithos” = stone

Rock Cycle
 Model that describes all the processes by which rocks are formed, modified,
transported, decomposed, melted, and reformed.

o When there’s a process of cooling or solidification of magma, or exposure of

magma (cooldown or lowering of temperature) it will become igneous rocks.
o Igneous Rocks – rocks that are now in the surface of the lithosphere -> by the
process of uplift (lifts magma to the surface of lithosphere) -> there are factors that
may affect the formation of rock: (example) accretion – growth of living things ->
weathering and erosion -> making it into small pieces -> (sediment) -> sediments
transform by different factors: water, etc. -> rock settle down (process: compaction
and cementation)
o Sedimentary Rocks – rocks formed by deposits of sediments -> high pressure and
temperature -> modification (metamorphism) -> rocks are buried then transform
into…
o Metamorphic Rocks – under the Earth’s surface, melting -> magma -> excreted by
volcanoes then the process begins again.

Note:
✓ This rock cycle may vary; Igneous Tock may also transform into metamorphic rock
because of heat and pressure.
✓ Metamorphic Rock may transform into sedimentary rock because of weathering of
lithification.
Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rock
 Or magmatic rock is one of the best of the three main rock types, the others being
sedimentary and metamorphic.
 It is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma.

Igneous formed from Magma and Lava

✓ Magma – molten rock below Earth’s surface
✓ Lave – magma on the Earth’s surface

✓ Pyroclastic Material
• (pyro = fire, clastic – debris) Bowen’s Reaction Series
• Airborne Lave – cools
as it falls

Composition of the Magma

 Analogous to what makes up
the “stew”
 What chemical elements are
present?
 What material has the
magma moved through?

Temperature of the Melt

 Not only how hot, but also how long it stays that hot.
 Also relates to pressure of the molten rock

Cooling Environment
 Fast vs Slow
 Internal vs External

Composition of Igneous Rocks

o Felsic
• Si-rich (> 65%)
• Rick in K and Al
• Little Ca, Fe, and Mg
o Intermediate Magma
• Between the two extremes in Si content and other atoms
o Mafic Magma
• Si – poor (< 35%)
• Richer in Ca, Fe, and Mg
Ways of Changing Magma Composition

✓ Volcanoes can erupt lavas with different

compositions, indicating chambers with differing
compositions and mixing histories below.

o Minerals forming early in a chamber can

settle to the bottom, changing the composition
of the magma that remains, resulting in changes
in lava or magma composition

o A rising plume of mafic magma

might mix with an existing felsic
magma possibly producing an
intermediate composition magma

o Magma moving underground can

assimilate surrounding rock with different
compositions causing changes to the magma’s
composition.

Viscosity of Magma/Lava
✓ Viscosity – important for volcanic activity; the resistance of a liquid to flow
o High Viscosity – thick and stiff
o Low Viscosity – thin and runny
✓ Related to:
o Amount of water (H2O) in magma
o Amount of silica (Si) in magma
o Mafic – thin, low viscosity
o Felsic – thick, high viscosity

Igneous Rock Textures

✓ Phaneritic Texture
o Visible mineral grains – distinguishable as different colored interlocking
shapes
 ✓ Aphanitic Texture
o Mineral grains too small to be seen – microscopic
✓ Porphyritic Texture
o Two distinct sized of mineral grains
o Large and small
• Large – Phenocrysts
• Small – Groundmass or Matrix
o Groundmass – grains may be either visible or not

Cooling Histories
 Minerals need time and space to grow
o More time – bigger crystals and visible mineral grains
 Pressure and temperature cooling rates of magma
o Temperature
• Earth is a good insulator
▪ Holds in heat
▪ Keeps out cool
• Atmosphere is a relatively bad insulator
▪ Transfers heat easily
o Earth has pressure
• Weight of overlying rocks
• Magma trying to push up (density)
• Water Vapor (steam), wants to expand

Categories of Igneous EOF

✓ Intrusive Rocks
o Cool beneath Earth’s surface
o Cool very slowly
o Higher pressure and temperature
o Phaneritic Texture
✓ Intrusive Rocks
o Cool on the Earth’s surface
o Cool relatively fast
o Lower pressure and temperature
o Aphanitic Texture
o Pyroclastic Texture
✓ Complex
o Partially cools below and above
o Porphyritic Texture
Igneous Rock Names
✓ Determined by texture – size
and arrangement of mineral
grains
✓ And by mineral composition –
minerals affect rock color and
indicate temperature of
creation
How do we tell where the igneous
rocks formed and what can we
derive from the rocks about the
conditions of:

✓ Sierra Nevada Batholith – home to

Yosemite National Park and a lot of
Granites and Grano-diorites
✓ Batholith – type of igneous rock which
does not require a volcanic eruption to
let magma rise onto earth’s crust
Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary Rock
 Are the type of rocks that are formed by the
deposition of material at earth’s surface and
within the bodies of rocks,
 Contributes about 8% of total volume of
crust.
 The study of sedimentary rocks and rock
strata provides information about the
subsurface that is useful for civil engineering
(construction of roads, houses, tunnels,
canals, etc.)

Formation of Sedimentary Rocks

✓ Sedimentary rocks are formed at or near the
Earth’s surface by accumulation and
lithification (process of rock-making) of
fragments of pre-existing rocks or by precipitation from solution at normal surface
temperatures.
Based on their mode of formation,
Sedimentary Rocks are classified as:
1. Mechanically formed or Clastic Rocks
2. Originally formed rocks
3. Chemically formed rocks

Mechanically formed or Clastic Rocks

 Such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, and
shale are formed from mechanical weathering debris from
pre-existing rocks.
 The following steps are involved in the formation
of clastic rocks:
o Decay and disintegration: Hard coherent rock
mass are gradually disintegrated and loosened. Such
loosened materials accumulated near the source is called
detritus.
o Transport of Sediments: Common agents of
Formation of Clastic Rocks transport like wind, running water (rivers & streams) and
glaciers carry millions of tones of detritus to vaious places.
o Graudl Deposition: The sediments which undergo
grading according to their size, shape, and desnity get
deposited in layers under ordinary pressure and
temperature conditions.
o Diagenesis: The process of transformation of
sediments into cohesive, hard and massive rock because of
 compaction, consolidation and cementation is called diagenesis.

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

✓ Such as rock salt, gypsum, anhydrite
and some limestones are formed when
dissolved materials precipitate from solutions.

Organic Sedimentary Rocks

✓ Such as coal, and some limestones are
formed from the accumulation of plant or
animal debris.

Classification of Sedimentary Rocks

✓ Based on the average grain size of the
sediments; Clastic rocks are classified as:
✓ Garvel: (grain size > 2 mm)
- All sediments and fragments of
rocks above size of 2 mm
irrespective of composition and
shape are called gravels
- Further classified as:
• Boulders (grain size > 256 mm)
• Cobbles (grain size btwn 256-26
mm)
• Pebbles (grain size < 16-2)
✓ Sands: (grain size in range of 2 – 1/16 mm)
- Petrologically the term sand is
used for siliceous sediments.
- Further classified as:
• Course Sand (size range btwn 2 –
½ mm)
• Medium Sands (size range btwn ½ - ¼ mm)
• Fine Sands (size range btwn ¼ - 1/16 mm)
✓ Silts: (grain size in range of 1/16 – 1/256 mm)
- Silts are major constituents of rocks known as shales.
- Further classified as:
• Course Silt
• Medium Silt
• Fine Silt
✓ Clays: (grain size in range of 1/256 mm)
- They are formed in variety of
ways and abound in nature as
soils and rocks as laystone,
mudstone, shales, etc.
Types of Clastic Rocks
(based on grain size)

Based on the predominance of sediments, Clastic rocks are divided into:

✓ Rudites (psephites):
- Rudaceous rocks
- Average grain size greater than 2mm
- Made of boulders, cobbles, & pebbles
- Eg: Breccias, conglomerates
✓ Arnites (psamites):
- Arenaceous rocks
- Sediments of sand grade 2 – 1/16 mm
- Eg: sanstones, grewackes, & arkoses
✓ Lutites (pelites):
- Argillaceous rocks
- Made of slit and clay
- Size less than 1/16 mm
- Eg: shales, clays, mudstones, slitstones
Peat
✓ organic sediments from biological and geological processes, and will transform into coal
after compaction and coalification

Stages of Peat:
• Lignite - soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rocks formed from naturaly
compressed peat
2a. Bituminous Coal - soft coal containing tar-like substances (bitumen and asphalt) used for
power generation and etc
2b. Subbituminous Coal - intermediate rank between lignite, bituminous coal and anthracite,
used as fuel for steam electric power generation, containing 35-45% Carbon
4. Anthracite - has high luster, highest carbon content

Texture
✓ Origin: Mostly clastic (allogenic) or non-
clastic
✓ Size of Grain: 0.002 < grain size < 250
mm
• Coarse-grained rocks: avrg grain
size > 5mm
• Medium-grained rocks: avrg grain
size 5-1mm
• Fine-grained rocks: avrg grain size <
1 mm
✓ Shapes of Grains: rounded,
subrounded, angular, subangular, show
sphericity
✓ Packing of Grains: open-packed
✓ Fabric of Grains: elongaed
✓ Crystallisation Trend: crystalline granular texture or non crytalline, collaidal particles

Structure
Mechanical Structure:
o Most prevalent structure in sedimentary
rocks
o Developed due to physical processes at
the time formation of the rocks
✓ Stratification:
- Layered arrangement in a
sedimentary rock
- Strata may be similar or dissimilar in
color, composition, grain size, and
texture
- Bedding planes may separate the
strata from each other
- Thickness of each layer varies from few centimeters to many meters
 - In lateral extension it may show continuity for several meters to hundreds of
kilometers
- They may be horizontal, inclined, folded, or bent & broken or overturned depending
on the tectonic forces acring after their deposition
✓ Lamination:
- Layered structure
- Individual layers (laminae) are thinner (less than 1 cm)
- Characteristic structure of clays and shales
✓ Cros Bending:
- Layers lying one above other are not parallel
- Irregular or inclined relationship
- Deposition in shallow waters
- Stream suffers repeated change in direction of flow
- False-bedding or current bedding
Types of False-bedding:
1. Tabular:
▪ Top and bottom surfaces of the deposits are parallel
▪ Intervening layers are inclined
2. Lenticular:
▪ All layers show extreme irregularity in shape and deposition
▪ Individual layers mey be intersected by many others lying at different
levels
3. Wedge shaped:
▪ Bears sets of parallel layers
▪ Sets bear angular relationship
▪ Appears like interwoven edges in vertical cross section
✓ Graded bedding:
- Coponent sediment in each layer appear to be characteristically sorted and arranged
according to their grain size, coarsest at the bottom and finest at the top
- Result of sedimentation in standing water by gravitative settling ot subaqeous
landslides or submarine earthquakes.
✓ Mud cracks:
- Polygonal or irregular cracks spread along the surface
- Cracks are developed on the surface of drying mud in shallow environments
- They get preserved when layers of mud covers the deposits
- When overlying layers get eroded they become visible
✓ Rain Prints:
- Irregular, small crater-shaped depressions seen on fine-grained dried sediments
- Rain falling on fine-grained compacted clays form crater like depressions
- These get dried up and preserved under another layer of mud
✓ Ripple Marks:
- Deposits made in shallow water
- Symmetrical assymetrical, wave-like irregularity in a layer
- Due to win action or wave action during deposition
✓ Mud cracks, rain prints, ripple marks are the confirmatory evidence for the formation of
deposits in shallow water environtment
Chemical Structure:
✓ Concretionary Structure:
- Made up of concretions
of various shapes and
dimensions
- Individual concretions
may be rounded, sub-
rounded, rouch or
smooth and smooth and
small
- Examples: oolitic &
pisolitic
- In OOLITIC structures,
concretions are of the size of fish eggs (0.1 – 1 mm). Appears like assemblage of fish-
eggs
- In PISOLITIC structures, concretions are of peanut size. Eg: limestones, bauxite
✓ Nodular Structures:
- Irregularly shaped nodules of
chert, iron oxides, iron
carbonates, clayey ironstones
- Nodules show elongation or
flattering parallel to bedding
planes
✓ Geode Strcutures:
- Hollow shell of rock
- Interior is lined with inwardly
projecting crystals
- Rock shell is made up of
chalcedony & inner
encrustations are made up of
quartz crystals

Organic Structure:
✓ Fossiliferous Structure:
- Due to the presence of fossils
of plants and animal in the
rock
✓ Stromalitic structures:
- Due to the presence of
remains of algae
Important Sedimentary Rocks
Limestones
✓ Definition:
- Most common non-clastic sedimentary rocks
✓ Composition:
- Calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3), quartz (SiO2), felspar minerals and iron oxides
- Chemically CaO, CO2, MgO
✓ Texture:
- Shows a variety of texture
- Fossiliferous nature
- Dense and compact texture
- Concretionary texture in limestones
- Fossils at all stages may be found
✓ Types:
- Autochthonous: formed by biogenic precipitations from seawaters
- Allochthonous: formed from precipitated calcareous sediments
- Common tyoes are chalk, shelly limestone, argillaceous, limestones, lithographic
limestone, kankar, calc-sinter
✓ Formation:
- Purely organic or in-organic origin
- Environments of Formation
• Biothermal limestones:
- Occur in the form of reefs or mounds transferred to corals
- Highly fossiliferous
• Biostromal limestones:
- Sheet-like accumulations of biogenic deposits
• Pelagic limestones:
- formed from limy secretion of floating type of sea organisms
✓ Uses:
1. Important application in
industries and engineering
practices
2. It is the primary source
material for portland cement
3. In metallurgical industries as
flux
4. Constrcution practice as
building and road stones
5. Chemical industries
✓ Occurences:
- Occurs as mountains and
hills

Sandstones
✓ Definition:
- Mechanically formed sedimentary rocks of Arenaceous group
- Silica in the form of Quarts is the dominant mineral constituent of most sandstones
 ✓ Compostion:
- Quartz (SiO2), felspar, micas, gamet,
magnetite
✓ Texture:
1. Varies in size range as follows:
• Coarse-grain: 2 – ½ mm
• Medium-grain: ½ - ¼ mm
• Fine-grain: ¼ - 1/16 mm
2. Eound or angular outline
3. Loosely packed or densely packed
- Their texture plays the main role in
deicding whether these rocks are useful
or useless
✓ Color:
- Variety of colors: red, brown, grey, and
white
- Depends on the composition
✓ Types:
- Based on the composition and nature of cementing material the following types are
indentifies
1. Siliceous sandstones
2. Calcareous sandstones
3. Argillaceous sandstones
4. Ferruginous sandstones
- Based on the minerological compostion sandstones are grouped as: Arkose, Reyeacke,
Flagstone, Freestone, Ganister
✓ Uses:
1. Building stones, payements stones, and road stones
2. Redfort of india is made up of sandstones
✓ Distribution:
- Most abundant sedimentary rocks found in upper 15 km of the crust
- 15% of total sedimentary rocks

Conglomerates
✓ Definition:
- Clastic nuture
- Rudaceous group
- Has rounded fragments
- Roundness indicates the
constituent garvels were
transported to some distance
✓ Composition:
- Heterogeneous mixture
- No definite composition
- Has clasts of any rock material or
weathering products washed
downstream
✓ Types:
 - On the basis of dominant grade of the constituent gravels
1. Boulder-conglomerate (gravels>256mm)
2. Glacial-conglomerate (64 – 256 mm)
3. Pebble-conglomerate (2 – 64 mm)
- On the basis of source
1. Basal-conglomerate (sea water over subsiding land)
2. Glacial-conglomerate (glacial origin)
3. Volcanic-conglomerate (volcanic origin)
- On the lithological basis
1. Oligomictic (simple in composition
2. Polymictic (derived from rocks of all sorts)
✓ Texture:
- Matrix supported rocks
- Contains 15% sand sized or smaller grains and the rest larger grains of various size
✓ Color:
- Many different colors
- Base color of brown, black, or grey
- Rock fragments embedded on them may vary in size, shape, and color
✓ Significance:
- Special geological significance when they occur in the form of well-defined layers of
good thickness
- Indicative of shallow water phase in the depositional environment
✓ Uses:
- Decoration
- In construction industry

Rock Salt
✓ Composition:
- Mineral halite (NaCl)
✓ Texture:
- varies from coarse-grained
massive
✓ Color:
- White in purest form
- Greyish or reddish in
impure state
✓ Formation:
- Evaporation of concentrated saline seawater
- Subsidence of the basin of deposition during the process of evaporation
✓ Texture:
- Thickness of abou 100 m or more
✓ Distribution:
- Many parts of the world interbedded with other sedimentary formations.

Dolomite
✓ Definition
- Carbonate rock of sedimentary origin
 - Made up of the mineral dolomite CaMG(CO1)2
- Ferrous iron may also be present
✓ Texture:
- Coarely crystalline, finely
crystalline, or interlocking
crystals
- Rhombohedral habit
✓ Formation:
- Mostly formed from limestones
by simple process dolomitization
(replacement of Ca++ ions by
Mg++ ions in rich water)
✓ Color:
- Rusty
✓ Occurrence:
- Commonly associated with
limestones
- Occur as intervening layers between limestone formations
- Extended boundaries of limestiones

Gypsum
✓ Definition:
- Composed of the mineral gypsum CaSO2 2H2O
✓ Color:
- White
- Other shade like yellow, red, or dark gray due to impurities
✓ Formation:
- Result of evaporation of
sea wters rich in suphate
salts
✓ Occurrence:
- Associated with rock-salt
- Independent deposits are
also common
✓ Anhydrite
- Granular aggregare of
mineral CaSO4
- Hydration on andhydrites
would give gypsum
✓ Uses:
- As a raw material in the manufacture of fertilizers
- As an essential ingredient in the manufacture of cement
- In the manufacture of plaster of paris
- As fire proofing component of gypsum boards
Flint and Chert
✓ Flint:
- Dark colored
sedimentary rock of
siliceous composition
- Consists mainly of
chalcedony and fine-
grained quartz
- Occurs commonly as
concretions or nodules
in chalk (limestone)
deposits
✓ Chert:
- Composed of
cryptocrystalline silica
- Variety of colors
- Occurs as beds or layers within limestones and other deposits

Tillite
- Sedimentary rock of glacial origin
- Structureless matrix that has fragments of various sizes, shapes, and composition
- Bears striations indicating their transportaion from galciers
- Compacted and consolidated form of glacial debris call till
- Embedded fragments are extremely heterogeneous

Iron Ores of Sedimentary Origin

- Most iron ores are of sedimentary origin
- Occure interstratified with other sedimentary rocks
- Chemical precipitates in the form of oxides, carbonnates, and silicates from marine
waters rich in corresponding salts
- Metasomatic replacement for the formation of iron ore deposits
- Eg: Iron-oxide ore series of Singhbhum, Orissa (interbedded with rocks like phyllites
and made of oxides like hematite Fe2O3)

Engineering Importance
 Covers a great part of the earth’s
crust 75% of surface land mass)
 Withstand loads under heavy
construction
 Natural reservoirs of oil and
ground water supplies
 They may be used in cutes and
tunnels in highway construction
and also as reservoirs
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphism
 The alteration of a pre-existing igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock (called
the “parent rock” or “protolith”) by the application of heat and/or pressure.
Complete melting does not occur.

Metamorphic Rocks
 When rocks are baked by
heat of molten magma or
squeezed by the movements
of huge tectonic plates or by
the pressure of overlying
thick succession of rocks
 They are altered or changed
beyond their recognition, i.e.
change in Chemical
composition, tecture, and
strcucture

Agents of Metamorphism
1. High temperature
2. High pressure
3. Chemically active fluids

Temperature
 The source of temperature is either from magma or due to the depth factor
 Metamorphism usually result into change in min. comp. and texture of rocks (Ig. and Sed.)
which are subjected to temp
• Low-grade metamorphism: Occurs within 100*c to 500*c
• High-grade metamorphism: occurs at > 500*c

Types of Pressure
✓ Uniform Pressure
- It is present at greath depth
- The pressure is due to overlying
rocks
- If depth increases the uniform
pressure also increases with
respect to temperature
✓ Directed Pressure
- It is prersent at shallow depth
- The pressure operates during
folding movements
- If the depth increases the directed pressure decreases
Effects of Metamorphism
✓ Mineralogical: change mineral to
reflect new P-T (equilibrium)
conditions.
✓ Recrystallization: change of
existing crystal size and shape to
form layers (e.g., shale to schist),
interlocking crystals (e.g.,
sandstone to quartzite)
✓ Recombination: recombination
of elements in pre-existing
minerals to form stable new
ones. Addition/subtraction of
ions common when fluid is
present.

Types of Metamorphism
✓ Contact Metamorphism
- This type of metamorphism occurs locally adjacent to the igneous intrusion, with high
temp, and low stress
- There is little change in bulk composition of the rock
 - Area surrounding the intrusion
(Batholith) is heated by the
magma; metamorphism is
restricted to a zone surrounding
the intrusion, this zone is known
as Metamorphic Aureole
- The rocks formed are non-foliated
fine-grained rocks called as
Horneels.
✓ Cataclastic Metamorphism
- This type of metamorphism
occurs mainly due to direct pressure
- E.g when two bodies of rock slide past one another along a fault zone. Heat is
generated by the friction of sliding along the zone, and the rocks tend to crushed and
pulverized due to the sliding.
- Caraclastic metamorphism is mechanical
breakdown of rocks without any new mineral
formation, however, sometimes due to intense
shearing few new minerals are formed.
✓ Regional Metamorphism
- Metamorphism occurs covering larger area, which
is subjected to intense deformation under direct or
differential stress.
- Rocks formed under such environment are usually
strongly foliated, such as slates, schist’s, and
gneisses.
- The differential stresses result from tectonic forces.
- E.g when two continental masses collide with one
another resulting into mountain building activity.
Compressive stresses result in folding
of the rock.

Produces non-foliated, granoblastic rocks

o Hornfels (if clastic-shale)
o Quartzite (if sandstone) Regional Metamorphism
o Marble (if carbonate)

Types Of Metamorphism: Regional (Associated with

Mountain Buildings)
✓ Dynamothermal – produces both foliated and non-
foliated metamorphic rocks
✓ Associated with mountain belts – affects very large areas
✓ Heat and directed pressure on rocks buried deep within
the Earth: Prograde & Retrograde
✓ Prograde – metamorphic reaction liberates a fluid
✓ Retrograde – is difficult; pore spaces decrease during
prograde so getting fluid back is not easy
 ✓ Meteorite Impact – sudden and intense deformation

 High-pressure polymorph of quarts – coesite – can form

 Impact melt can form.
 Lots of rock fragmentation & mineral deformation

Moon
 no atmosphere so lots of meteorite impacts (micro and macro)
 produces regolith, rock flour, impact melt,
breccias

Water in Metamorphism
 Provides transport mechanism and can
promote reaction
✓ Hydrothermal Metamorphism
- hot water streams add/remove ions.
- May promote ore formation
✓ Metasomatism
- addition of ions from
external source

Metamorphic Rock Grade

 Degree of parent rock alteration, mostly dependent on increasing temperature for
increase grade
✓ Prograde: Slate – phyllite – schist – gneiss – migmatite
✓ Slate: oriented clay minerals allow the rock to be easily cleaved
✓ Prograde: slate – phyllite – schist – gneiss – migmatite
✓ Phyllite: growth of microscopic micas to give strong foliation – rock is “shiny”
✓ Prograde: slate – phyllite – schist – gneiss – migmatite
✓ Schist: strongly foliated with visible micas & feldspar
✓ Prograde: slate – phyllites – schist – gneiss – migmatite
✓ Gneiss – strongly banded rock with dark bands of micas & pyroxenes and light bands of
feldspars and quartz
✓ Prograde: slate – phyllite – schist – gneiss – migmatite
✓ Migmatite: strongly veined rock as it has partially melted
Structures in Metamorphic Rock
✓ Foliation
- When platy, lamellar, or
flaky minerals (e.g., sheet
silicate minerals the micas:
biotite and muscovite,
chlorite, talc, and
serpentine), occurring in
rock orient themselves
parallel to one another (i.e. perpendicular to the direction of maximum pressure or
stress)
✓ Slaty Cleavage
- Usually formed during the early stage
of low-grade metamorphism due to
lithostatic stress
- New sheet – structure minerals tends
to be parallel to the bedding planes
during metamorphism
- However, further deep burial along the
continental margin; compressional forces
will cause deformation (folding)
- Hence, the sheet minerals as well as
foliation will no longer be parallel to the
bedding planes, such type of foliation in fine
grained rocks is called slaty cleavage.
✓ Schistose Structure
- Usually formed during intermediate and
high- grade metamorphism
- Grain size increases and can be seen by
naked eye; grains tends to enlarge with
increasing grade of metamorphism; the
coarse grained sheet-structure minerals
show preferred orientation
- grain size is the main difference between
the slaty structure and
✓ Gneissic Structure
- Usually associated with high-grade
regional metamorphism (where
differential stress prevails (i.e., tectonic
forces)
- Where the sheet silicates and other
minerals like quartz/
feldspars/hornblende/ pyroxene are
segregated in distinct bands in the rocks known as gneissic banding
Classification of Metamorphic Rocks based on Texture/Structures
✓ Slate
- Strongly cleaved rock
- Cleavage planes are developed due to orientation of fine phyllosilicate grains
- E.g., Muscovite, biotite, chlorites, etc.
- Individual grains to fine to be visible with naked eye
- Overall dull appearance
✓ Phyllite
- Similar to slate, but slightly coarser phyllosilicate grains
- Grains can be seen in hand specimen, giving silk appearance to cleavage surfaces
- Often cleavage planes less perfectly planar than slates
✓ Schist
- Parallel alignment of moderately coarse grains (fabric= schistosity)
- Grains are visible by eye
- Mainly phyllosilicate and other minerals such as hornblende, kyanite, etc.
✓ Gneiss
- Coarse grain rock (grain size several millimeters)
- Foliated (planar fabric: either schistosity or compositional layering)
- Tendency for different minerals to segregate into layers parallel to foliation (gneissic
layering); typically quartz and feldspar rich layers tend to separate from micaceous
layers
- Variety:
o orthogenesis: rocks formed from igneous rocks
o paragneiss: rocks formed from sedimentary rocks – metasedimentary gneisses
✓ Quartizite
- It comprises equidimensional minerals viz. quartz and feldspars
- Non foliated: show GRANULOSE STRUCTURE

Types Of Metamorphic Rocks

✓ Foliated
- The common foliated rocks in the order of increasing grain size are
- SLATE – PHYLLITE – SCHIST – GNEISS
✓ Non – foliated
- Quartzite’s and hornfels

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 extends improves workability
- Load perpendicular to foliated planes gives more stronger foundation
 If mineral assemblage is more or less like Granite (with less % mafic minerals) then:
- It is used as building stone
- As aggregate for making concrete
- As road metals etc.
✓ Schist
- Mainly composed of prismatic or
platy minerals, which contributes
in development of Schistose
Structure. E.g. Hornblende,
tourmaline, sillimanite etc.
(prismatic); chlorite, muscovite,
biotite, talc, kyanite etc. (platy)
- Cleavable nature of Schists is main reason for their weakness;
they are incompetent.
✓ Parent Rock
- The minerals that compose gneiss are the same as granite
- Feldspar is the most important mineral that makes up gneiss
along with mica and quartz. Gneiss can be formed from a
sedimentary rock such as sandstone or shale or it can be
formed from the metamorphism of the igneous rock granite.
Gneiss can be used by man as paving and building stone.
✓ Quartzite
- SANDSTONE (composed of quartz/feldspars/feldspathoid
minerals) when under go metamorphism result into Quartzite
- Granulose texture/structure (Granoblastic) makes
them most competent rock amongst all other
metamorphic rocks.
- Because metamorphism of sst. Result
disappearance of cementing material, bedding
planes, fossil content etc.
- Quartzite’s are compact, hard, and strong; very
less porous and less permeable than the parent
sandstone.
 -Predominance of Quartz makes the rock very hard and suitable for road metal; can be
used as concrete aggregate etc.
- Acts as strong foundation for any C.E structure.
✓ 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.

✓ Solar
✓ Wind
✓ Hydro
✓ Bioenergy
✓ Geothermal

Renewable Energy
 A renewable energy source means energy that is sustainable – something that can’t run
out, or is endless, like sun.
 When you hear the term ‘alternative energy’, it is usually referring to renewable energy
sources too.
 It means sources of energy that are alternative to the most commonly used non-
sustainable sources-like coal.

Solar Energy
 Sunlight is one of our planet’s most
abundant and freely available energy
resources.
 The amount of solar energy that
reaches the earth’s surface in one hour
is more than the planet’s total energy
requirements for a whole year.
 Humans have been harnessing solar
energy for thousands of years to grow
crops, stay warm, and dry foods.
 We use the sun’s rays in many ways to heat homes and businesses, to warm water, or
power devices.
 Solar energy systems do not produce air pollutants or greenhouse gases.
Wind Energy
 Wind is plentiful source of clean energy.
 Wind energy (or wind power) describes the process by which wind is used to generate
electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power.
 To harness electricity from wind
energy, turbines are used to drive
generators which then feed
electricity into the National Grid.
 Turbines are as tall as skyscrapers;
with turbines nearly as wide in
diameter stand at attention around
the world. Wind energy turns a
turbine’s blades, which feeds an
electric generator and produces
electricity.
Hydro Energy
 A hydraulic turbine converts the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy. A
hydroelectric generator converts this mechanical energy into electricity.
 This, in turn, causes electricity to flow and a voltage to develop at the generator output
terminals.
 Hydro power is one of the most commercially developed. By building a dam or barrier, a
large reservoir can be used to create a controlled flow of water that will drive a turbine,
generating electricity.

Water Cycle

Tidal Energy
 Tidal power or tidal energy is obtained by
converting energy from tides into useful
forms of power, mainly electricity using
various methods.
 This is another form of hydro energy that
uses twice-daily tidal currents to drive
turbine generators. Although tidal flow
unlike some other hydro energy sources
isn’t constant, it is highly predictable, and cam therefore compensate for the periods
when the tide current is low.
  Although it is not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity
generation.

Geothermal Energy
 Geothermal energy is the thermal
energy generated and stored in the
Earth.
 Thermal energy is the energy that
determines the temperature of
matter.
 The geothermal energy of the Earth’s
crust originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay
of materials.

Biomass Energy
 Biomass is plant or animal
material used for energy
production, or in various
industrial processes as raw
substance for a range of
products.
 It can be purposely grown
energy crops, wood or forest
residues, waste from food,
crops, horticulture, food
processing, animal farming, or human waste from sewage plants.