LESSON 3:

IGNEOUS
ROCKS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
The origin of Igneous Rocks can be compared to that of
producing the steel products from the blast furnace.

Igneous Rock is one of the three main rock types, the others
being sedimentary and metamorphic.

Igneous Rocks are formed from the cooling of a molten

mass of lava, poured out on the crust of the earth. It is from
weathering of these igneous rocks that the other types of
rocks, the sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and even
soils are formed. Because igneous rocks are formed from
hot lava, there will be no fossils in igneous rocks.
 IGNEOUS
ROCKS Table 4.1
How the extrusive and intrusive rocks are formed.
summarizes the formation of the different types of igneous rocks. The same composition of lava can form two types of rocks depending on it’s formation whether extrusive or intrusive

Extrusive flow Intrusive flow

Coarse textured
(glassy or felsitic)

Rhyolite Granite Acidic

Trachyte Syenite Light

Andesite Diorite

Basalt Gabbro

Augite Pyroxenite Basic

Limburgite Peridotite Dark

 AN EXTRUSIVE FLOW IS IN THE FORM OF THE MOLTEN MASS OR
MAGMA THAT COMES TO THE SURFACE AND COOLS DOWN. THAT
IS HOW THE BASALT IS FORMED, BECAUSE THE COOLING IS
QUICK, THE CRYSTALS THAT ARE FORMED ARE SMALL.
ON THE OTHER HAND, IF THE MAGMA PENETRATES UNDER OTHER
ROCKS AND COOL DOWN SLOWLY UNDER THE CRUST, IT IS SAID
TO BE INTRUSIVE.
UNLIKE BASALT THE GRANITE IS FORMED BECAUSE WHEN THE
MAGMA COMES TO THE SURFACE THE COOLING IS SLOW, SO THE
CRYSTALS THAT ARE FORMED IS LARGER AND CAN BE SEEN BY
THE NAKED EYE. THESE CAN BE SEEN ON THE SURFACE ONLY
AFTER EROSION OF MATERIALS FROM ITS TOP.
• Rhyolite, is the type of rock that is light-
coloured and it does not occur in the large
areas but not in less than a few kilometers.

• Basalt. The fast cooling of lava give the basalt EXTRUSIVE OR

a dark-coloured, composed chiefly of
plagioclase and pyroxene. Basalt density can VOLCANIC
be as high as 2.77. Basalt can also cover very
large areas in one place, unlike rhyolite. ROCKS
Three common representatives of the
• Andesite is a medium-textured variety. Basalt
and Andesite are called by the name “Deccan extrusive group
Trap” by the engineers. In Peninsular India
has a large area of deccan trap, because of the
quick cooling.
Granite is the good example of intrusive
formation. The chemical and mineralogical
composition of rhyolite and granite are similar
which is distinguishes by its coarse-grained
texture.

INTRUSIVE OR
PLUTONIC ROCK
FORM OF INTRUSIVE ROCKS
The 4 different formation of intrusive are the following:

• Laccolith – a domelike intrusion

FORM OF INTRUSIVE ROCKS
2. Batholith – is a great intrusive mass inside a rock mass, but without a
domelike top
FORM OF INTRUSIVE ROCKS
3. Dikes – a wall like tubular mass cooled in a crack in the rock
4. Sills – also known as intrusive sheets, its intrusion between
layers of stratified rock
FORM OF INTRUSIVE ROCKS
 CLASSIFICATION AND IMPORTANCE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

PHYSIOGRAPHIC
TYPE ROCK NAME RESISTANCE FORMS
1. Finetextured and Usually resistant except Columnar jointing, dikes
Basalt
dark (basic) when bearing olivine. and escarpments
Not widespread enough
Medium Andesite Usually resistant to form typical
landscapes

Resistant but sometimes

Light (Siliceous) Rhyolite Bluffs and Cliffs
decomposes badly

2. Coarsetextured Very resistant except Dikes and

Gabbro diabase
dark (basic) when containing alivine escarpments

Similar to granite but lack

Medium Syenite Uplands
of quartz, less resistant

Resistant disintegrates Exfoliation dams, Bosses

Light (Siliceous) Granite
readily in grid regions and uplands.
 ACIDIC AND BASIC
ROCKS
• Igneous rocks under mineralogical are divided into
acidic and basic rocks.

• Acidic rocks these rocks contain dominant quantities

of siliceous minerals. They contain as much as 65% of
silica and other chemical resistant to weathering.
Granite is the best example of acidic rock.

• Basic rocks these rock contains more basic minerals.

Compare to acidic rocks these rocks contain less silica
and large proportion of calcium, iron, aluminum etc.,
Basic rock is more susceptible to chemical attack on
the ground. Basalt is the best example of basic rock.
 ROCKS IN PENINSULAR INDIA
Two types of igneous rock formation in India. This
are the Deccan trap also known as basalt and
andesite, and charnockites.
Deccan trap
• One of the largest volcanic features on earth are called “Deccan Trap”.
• These are large Igneous province located on the deccan plateau of west-central India.
• These deccan traps are consists of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt, that are
together.
• They have a thickness of more than 2,000m, with an area cover about 500,000 km2 and
a volume of 1,000,000 km3.
• It was called traps because it was step like appearance of their outcrops.
• It is also a flat-topped hills of basalt that is a typical landscape of the region.
• Deccan Traps was the most extensive rock formation in peninsular in India.
 ROCKS IN PENINSULAR INDIA
It is very important for us to know that the same trap on weathering can give two
different products.

• The first product that can be formed was the red iron rich or the so called
“Laterite”. It was for formed in the regions where there is a good vegetations and
plenty of rainfall.
• The other soil type that can be formed was the black expensive type of soil or the so
called “Black Cotton Soils”. These types of soils are formed in the dry regions with
less rainfall.

Charnokites, this type of Igneous Rock is a granite type formation of the Archaean era in South
India. It covers the southern part of India and first recognized by Holland and named after Job
Charnock. The Mahabalipuram temples are built of Charnokites.
 SUMMARY
Igneous rocks are rocks that are formed from the cooling
and solidification of magma or lava.
• These rocks make up 90-95% of the 16 km. of the
earth’s crust by its volume.
• Igneous rock is very important because it form about
15% of the Earth’s current surface.
• These rocks are the beginning of all earth system.
LESSON 4:
SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
 The composition of a given rock will depend on the
source from which the waste material came on the
MINERALOGY OF resistance, chemical, and mechanical of each component
during transport, and on the distance traveled.
SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS The main constituents of terrigenous sedimentary rocks are
fragments from pre-existing rocks and minerals. These
may be fresh and unaltered or maybe alteration products
of weathering, such as clay minerals.
Quartz
• Most common mineral.
• It is chemically stable and hard enough to resist abrasion
as it is transported.
• Some rarer minerals, such as garnet, tourmaline, and
rutile, have similar properties.

Feldspar
• Less stable but may survive for long enough, under favorable
circumstances, to be present in deposits that have not been
transported far from their source, or which are protected in other
ways.
• The other common rock-forming minerals of igneous rocks
generally have an even lower survival rate when exposed to air and
water.
Some minerals in sedimentary rocks may be formed in the area of deposition.

The most common examples are those minerals precipitated from solution to form the chemical
sedimentary rocks.
• They include carbonates (calcite, dolomite, and siderite),
• sulfates (gypsum and anhydrite),
• chloride,
• and silica (chalcedonic minerals).
Each may not only be an essential mineral in a particular type of chemical sedimentary rock but may also
be the sole mineral present.

Limestone may possess mineral constituents that include

clastic particles, chemically precipitated material, and organic
remains (shells, corals, etc.).
Diagenesis is the name given to processes that alter the character of a sedimentary rock
after it has been deposited, either by interactions between constituent minerals or by
reactions between constituent minerals and pore fluids or other liquids circulating through
the sedimentary material.
Diagenesis is a low-temperature process, which can occur when the sediment is still in contact with
the sea or lake after its deposition, and also later when direct contact with the original water has
been removed. The process continues until the constituents and pore fluids are in chemical
equilibrium.
 Silica is first deposited at low temperatures between grains.
As the sedimentary pile thickens, the deeper sediments then
have calcite deposited at the higher temperatures; these
deep sediments have been compacted and their porosity
has been reduced. If the sedimentary pile is later uplifted,
the calcite cement redissolves and sedimentary rock will
Sedimentary pile possess gaps or voids in its structure this explains why some
during diagenesis sedimentary rocks are much weaker than their appearance
would suggest.

Sedimentary rock grains may be bonded together by

cement which consists of any naturally deposited mineral
matter as described earlier. Commonly found cement in
sedimentary rocks include calcite and silica, as well as
haematite which gives the rock a red color.
QUARTZ
Composition: SiO2

Crystal structure: hexagonal, continuous

framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen
tetrahedral.

Mohs hardness: 7.0

Identifying characteristics: clear to milky

white, impurities add color, glassy
texture, and conchoidal fracture.
MUSCOVITE
Composition: KAI2 (AISi3O10) (F, OH)
2

Crystal structure: monoclinic, the

framework of sheet layers of silicon-
oxygen tetrahedral.

Mohs hardness: 2-2.5

Identifying characteristics: silver to

grayish-white, flakey highly-perfect
sheeting cleavage
FELDSPARS
ORTHOCLASE
Composition: KAISi308

Crystal structure: monoclinic, framework of double

silicon-oxygen tetrahedral.

Mohs hardness: 6.0

Identifying characteristics: vitreous, pearly on

cleavage surfaces, typically pink.
Na-Plagioclase
Variety: Albite

Composition: NaAlSi3O8

Crystal structure: triclinic, framework of double

silicon-oxygen tetrahedral
Mohs hardness: 6.0

Identifying characteristics: typically white,

reflective cleavage on crystal surfaces.
Ca-Plagioclase
Variety: Anorthite

Composition: Ca (AlSi3O8)2

Crystal structure: triclinic, framework of double

silicon-oxygen tetrahedral
Mohs hardness: 6.0

Identifying characteristics: typically white to gray,

reflective cleavage on crystal surfaces.
 Chemical sedimentary rocks generally have a
crystalline texture.
TEXTURE OF
Some, however, are formed of fragments, and their
SEDIMENTAR textures are dependent on the sizes, shapes, and

Y ROCKS arrangement of these fragments. If the rock has been

formed from organic debris, then the fragments may
consist of particles of shell or wood, but the texture
can be described in the same terms as are used for
other fragmented rocks
 The size of grains is an important textural feature of a terrigenous
rock, as an indication of distance between its source and
depositional areas, as well as an easily observed property that may
be used to distinguish and classify the rock. The coarsest particles
are carried are deposited nearest to the source area, and most of
the finest particles are carried in suspension to greater distances
before they settle. These clay particles, or rock flour (which
represents minute particles of the common rock-forming minerals),
are deposited only when the current slackers to nearly zero, and in
some cases the salinity of the water of an estuary of the open sea
makes the minute specks of clay clot (flocculate) into larger particles.
 The degree of roundness of grains is related to the amount of
abrasion suffered during transport, and hence to the
distance traveled from their source before deposition.
Roundness is related to the sharpness or curvature of edges
and corners of grains. It is also dependent on the size and
hardness of the grains and the violence of impact of one
against another.
 A property associated with the roundness of grains is sphericity,
which defines the degree to which a particle or grain
approaches the shape of a sphere. Equidimensional particles
have a greater prospect of becoming spherical during
transportation than other shapes of particles. Sphericity is
controlled by directions of weakness such as bedding planes or
fractures. It is also related to size, in that the larger the grain above
8 mm, the lower the sphericity. The relationship of rounding to
particles less than 2 mm of high and low sphericity is given
in(see Figure 1.6)
A positive correlation exists between sphericity and roundness, but other factors, notably particle
size, planes of weakness, and particle composition, may have a marked influence on the final
shape of the particle when it is finally deposited. Settling velocity will also influence the shape of
the deposit.
 Most terrigenous rocks contain grains of different sizes (see Fig. 1.7).

The relative homogeneity of rock is expressed as its degree of sorting, a well-sorted rock consisting of
similarly sized particles. In contrast, a poorly sorted rock has a wide range of particle sizes (that is,
grades). It should be noted that, in engineering practice, a soil such as gravel, containing a wide range
of sizes (grades), is said to be well graded, and that ‘well graded’ is opposite in meaning to ‘well sorted’
LESSON 5:
METAMORPHI
C ROCKS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
We studied that the production of metamorphic rocks is
similar to the production of clay bricks.

• Metamorphism means alteration or change.

• Metamorphic rocks are the results of a change in

the form and character of preexisting igneous. It
is difficult to guess whether the parent rocks is
igneous or sedimentary if the action of
metamorphism is very intense. Perhaps the
chemical analysis is the only reliable method to
determine its original state.
There are three (3) principal agents of high pressure and high
temperature involved in the recrystallization:

1. Earth movement and pressure (Mechanical)

2. Liquid and gas, chiefly water (Chemical)
3. Heat (produces chemical change)

The effects can produce even new minerals from the minerals of the
origin rocks.
 • Limestone is transformed to crystalline
Changes in Sedimentary (MARBLE).
Rocks Due to High
• Sandstone is transformed to (QUARTZITE).
Temperature and Pressure
• Under moderate temperature and pressure,
converted to fissile slate and schist, these
classified as low grade metamorphic rocks.
When rocks is subjected to the
• Shales under increasing temperature and
combined effects of high temperature
pressure can also be metamorphosed into very
and pressure, its porosity decreases,
hard and dense GNEISS which is classified as
strength increases and the unit weight high grade metamorphic rocks.
also increase due to expulsion of
chemically bound water. • A list of important and characteristics of
metamorphic shows in Table 6.1
Table 6.1 Importans of
metamorphic rocks
and their
characteristics
Argillaceous Rocks
A type of rocks like clay stones, mudstone
which contains a lot of clay. (the words agril
means CLAY).
Formation of Slate Slaty Cleavage

and Shale

All states are derived from shales during

metamorphic of the shale. The particle size
increases and all the flaky particles get
oriented to one plane. The capacity to split
into thin plates or slabs in these plane is
called cleavage. This is the most evident in
roofing states.
 Structure of marbles

Marble from Crystalline

Limestone and Dolomite
Marbles are crystallized limestone calcite or dolomite
formed due to high temperature and pressure. The
calcium carbonate recrystallizes under these conditions
into form of calcites. Marbles has no cleavage but may
have fractures along which they break into a large
piece. Pure marbles are from pure limestone, is
generally white but various impurities produces green,
pink, black, and etc. which can be very attractive.
 MARBLE
AND MARBLE FORMATION
 Quartzite from Sandstone and
Formation of Schist
In can be derived from sandstone or quartz. These are the type of rocks
composed of quartz grain firmly cemented together. It is the highly
resistant to weathering.
Schist's are rocks made of parallel or subparallel layers on bands of platy
and flaky minerals. Within these bands will have crystals of another
mineral like hornblende. These will form by high pressure and
temperature from sedimentary or igneous rock.
Schist is defined foliated rocks presenting layer of minerals.
• The mineral is visible to the naked eye.
• It can be mica schist, chlorite schist, talc schist, etc. these is the most common
metamorphic rocks.
• It contains large quantities of flat platy minerals like mica which are lying on the
same direction. When shale is subjected to high pressure with heating, smashing, and
folding. The particle of clay and other minerals can be converted to mica or other flaky
minerals given by the typical feature of schist.

Some metamorphic schists can

be containing smooth sheets of
quartz along the cleavage
plane. Drilling holes into quartz
can be extremely difficult and
expensive.
 Formation of Gneiss
Special mention should be made for all types of rocks
including gneisses, if the pressure and temperature are
very high and act of long time, schist may be also
transformed into gneiss. The percentage of flaky
constituents is much smaller than schists even though
they may be oriented parallel to one plane. The strength
of gneiss is the same as igneous rock. Gneiss is the last
stage in the transition of clay sediments into solid rock. It
can also produce from many types of rocks.

Gneiss with banded structures. Magnetite Gneiss showing distinct

banding (The bands are also broken by small faults)
 Criteria for Distinguishing between
Metamorphosed, Igneous Rocks and
Sedimentary Rocks
Many geologists will have to depend on the field study of its
occurrence and its general characteristics as well as its relation to
other adjacent rocks. they will decide microscopically or by chemical
analysis of collecting specimen as to whether the rock is originally as
igneous or sedimentary rock. If the metamorphism has been
complete, the difficult to differentiate its origin. Otherwise chemical
and chemical analysis of collected specimens is the only sure tests to
find its origin.
 Summary
Metamorphic rocks are metamorphosed from
sedimentary or igneous rocks when these are
subjected to high pressure and high temperature.

The principal types of these metamorphic rocks are

briefly described in this chapter.