GEOLOGY!

Igneous Rock

Igneous Rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. It may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. 

Basalt 

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet.  Basalt has also formed on Earth's Moon, Mars,and Venus.  Basalt is used in construction (e.g. as building blocks or in the groundwork), making cobblestones and in making statues. 

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock and usually has a medium- to a coarse-grained texture.  Granites can be pink to gray in color, depending on their chemistry and mineralogy. Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use as a construction stone.  Granite is formed form magna and it is the most abundant basement rock.  

Metamorphic Rock

Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form".

It makes up a large part of the Earth's crust and may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earth's surface.  It is subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it. The study of metamorphic rocks provides us with information about the temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earth's crust.

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash.  When cut expertly, many slates will form smooth flat sheets of stone which have long been used for roofing and floor tiles and other purposes. Slate is frequently found grey in color, especially when seen in covering roofs, however, slate occurs in a variety of colors.  

Quartzite

Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure. Quartzite is a decorative stone and may be used to cover walls, as roofing tiles, as flooring, and stair steps.  It is very resistant to chemical weathering and often forms ridges and resistant hilltops.  Pure quartzite is usually white to grey, though quartzites often occurs in various shades of pink and red due to varying amounts of iron oxide. Other colors, such as yellow and orange, are due to other mineral impurities.

Sedimentary

Sedimentary rock is formed by sedimentation of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water.  Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles.  Before being deposited, sediment was formed by weathering and erosion in a source area, and then transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, mass movement or glaciers.  The sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth's crust is extensive, but the total contribution of sedimentary rocks is estimated to be only 5% of the total volume of the crust.  

Sandstone  

Sandstone is composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust.  Sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and pink, white.  Fine-grained aquifers, such as sandstones, are more apt to filter out pollutants from the surface than are rocks with cracks and crevices.    

Limestone

Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral.  Limestone makes up about 10% of the total volume of all sedimentary rocks.  Because of impurities, such as clay, sand, organic remains, iron oxide and other materials, many limestones exhibit different colors, especially on weathered surfaces.