The Basic Cycle
This molten rock is found under Earth's surface.
Magma
Cooling of molten rock leads to this rock type.
Igneous rock
This texture features large crystals embedded in smaller ones, like in porphyritic rocks.
Porphyritic
This process forms sedimentary rock through the weight and pressure of overlaying rock.
Compaction
This process slowly breaks down rocks via the atmosphere.
Weathering
This is molten rock that erupts onto Earth's surface.
Lava
Formed at the surface from lava, these rocks are also called volcanic.
Extrusive
Fast cooling creates this texture composed of minute particles
Fine-grained
This clastic rock consists of rounded, gravel-sized particles.
Conglomerate
Sediment turns into rock via pressure from above and cementing fluids.
Lithification
This rock type is composed of layers composite minerals
Sedimentary rock
The 1980 explosive eruption of this Washington volcano formed new igneous rocks.
Mount St. Helens
This lightweight rock with bubble holes shows vesicular texture.
Pumice
This biochemical rock is composed mostly of calcite and marine organisms
Limestone
Early-formed, denser crystals sink in magma, creating varied compositions.
Crystal setting
Rock particles produced by weathering are called this.
Sediment
Felsic and light-colored, this intrusive rock is common in continental crust.
Granite
Rapid cooling freezes ions before crystals form, creating this rock with a glassy texture
Obsidian
This angular clastic rock indicates short transport distance for its particles.
Breccia
Norman Levi Bowen devised this series showing mineral crystallization order in cooling magma.
Bowen's Reaction Series
When sedimentary rocks face heat and pressure, they become this type.
Metamorphic rock
Mafic in composition, this extrusive rock forms from quiet, slow lava flows.
Basalt
Consolidated volcanic ash and fragments create this texture, seen in welded tuff.
Pyroclastic
Compacted organic matter like lignite evolves into this rock under heat and pressure.
Coal
Water percolates through sediments, depositing minerals like calcite or silica to bind grains
Cementation