ROCKS
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
Rocks are an aggregate of one or more minerals held together by chemical bonds.
Feldspar and quartz are the most common minerals found in rocks.
The scientific study of rocks is called petrology.
Based on the mode of formation three major groups of rocks are defined: igneous,
sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous Rocks — solidified from magma and lava.
Sedimentary Rocks — the result of deposition of fragments of rocks.
Metamorphic Rocks — formed out of existing rocks undergoing recrystallisation.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
Igneous Rocks or Primary Rocks
The solidification of magma formed the first rocks on earth.
Rocks formed out of solidification of magma (molten rock below the surface) and
lava (molten rock above the surface) and are known as igneous or primary rocks.
Having their origin under conditions of high temperatures the igneous rocks are
unfossiliferous.
Granite, gabbro, basalt, are some of the examples of igneous rocks.
There are three types of igneous rocks based on place and time taken in cooling of
the molten matter, plutonic rocks, volcanic rocks and intermediate rocks.
There are two types of rocks based on the presence of acid-forming radical, silicon,
acidic rocks and basic rocks.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
Intrusive igneous rocks (Plutonic rocks)
If magma cools slowly at great depths, mineral grains formed in the rocks may be very
large.
Such rocks are called intrusive rocks or plutonic rocks (e.g. Granite).
These rocks appear on the surface only after being uplifted and denuded.
Extrusive igneous rocks (Lava or Volcanic rocks)
Sudden cooling of magma just below the surface or lava above the surface results in small
and smooth grains in rocks as rapid cooling prevents crystallisation, as a result, such rocks
are fine-grained.
Such rocks are called extrusive rocks or volcanic rocks (e.g. Basalt).
The Deccan traps in the Indian peninsular region is of basaltic origin.
Basic rocks contain a greater proportion of basic oxides, e.g. of iron, aluminium or
magnesium, and are thus denser and darker in colour.
Hypabyssal or Dyke Rocks or Intermediate rocks
These rocks occupy an intermediate position between the deep-seated plutonic bodies and
the surface lava flows.
Dyke rocks are semi-crystalline in structure.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
• Acidic Rocks
• Acidic rocks are characterised by high content of silica (quartz and feldspar) — up to 80 per cent.
• The rest is divided among aluminium, alkalis, magnesium, iron oxide, lime etc.
• These rocks have a lesser content of heavier minerals like iron and magnesium. Hence, they are
less dense and are lighter in colour than basic rocks.
• These rocks constitute the sial portion of the crust.
• Due to the excess of silicon, acidic magma cools fast, and it does not flow and spread far away.
• High mountains are formed of this type of rock.
• Add rocks are hard, compact, massive and resistant to weathering.
• Granite, quartz and feldspar are typical examples.
• Basic Rocks
• These rocks are poor in silica (about 40 per cent); magnesia content is up to 40 per cent, and the
remaining is spread over iron oxide, lime, aluminium, alkalis, potassium etc.
• Due to low silica content, the parent material of such rocks cools slowly and thus, flows and
spreads far away. This flow and cooling give rise to plateaus.
• Presence of heavy elements imparts to these rocks a dark colour. Not being very hard, these rocks
are weathered relatively easily.
• Basalt, gabbro and dolerite are typical examples.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
Sedimentary Rocks or Detrital Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed by lithification ― consolidation and compaction of
sediments.
Hence, they are layered or stratified of varying thickness. Example: sandstone,
shale etc.
Sediments are a result of denudation (weathering and erosion) of all types of rocks.
These types of rocks cover 75 per cent of the earth’s crust but volumetrically
occupy only 5 per cent (because they are available only in the upper part of the
crust).
Ice deposited sedimentary rocks are called till or tillite. Wind-deposited sediments
are called loess.
Depending upon the mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified into:
mechanically formed — sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, shale, loess.
organically formed — geyserite, chalk, limestone, coal.
chemically formed — limestone, halite, potash.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
• Chief Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks
• They are stratified ― consist of many layers or strata.
• They hold the most informative geological records due to the marks left behind
by various geophysical (weather patterns, wind and water flow) and biological
activities (fossils).
• They are fossiliferous ― have fossils of plants and animals.
• These rocks are generally porous and allow water to percolate through them.
• The spread of Sedimentary Rocks in India
• Alluvial deposits in the Indo-Gangetic plain and coastal plains is of sedimentary
accumulation. These deposits contain loam and clay.
• Different varieties of sandstone are spread over Madhya Pradesh, eastern
Rajasthan, parts of Himalayas, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.
• The great Vindhyan highland in central India consists of sandstones, shales,
limestones.
• Coal deposits occur in river basins of the Damodar, Mahanadi, the Godavari in the
Gondwana sedimentary deposits.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
• Metamorphic Rocks
• The word metamorphic means ‘change of form’.
• Metamorphism is a process by which recrystallisation and reorganisation of
minerals occur within a rock. This occurs due to pressure, volume and
temperature changes.
• When rocks are forced down to lower levels by tectonic processes or when
molten magma rising through the crust comes in contact with the crustal rocks,
metamorphosis occurs.
• In the process of metamorphism in some rocks grains or minerals get arranged in
layers or lines. Such an arrangement is called foliation or lineation.
• Sometimes minerals or materials of different groups are arranged into alternating
thin to thick layers. Such a structure in is called banding.
• Gneissoid, slate, schist, marble, quartzite etc. are some examples of metamorphic
rocks.
• The causes of metamorphism are orogenic movements, lava inflow and
geodynamic forces.
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
Some examples of Metamorphosis
Igneous or Sedimentary rock Influence Metamorphosed rock
Granite Pressure Gneiss
Clay, Shale Pressure Schist
Sandstone Heat Quartzite
Clay, Shale Heat Slate ==> Phyllite
Coal Heat Anthracite ==> Graphite
Limestone Heat Marble
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
• Rock cycle
• Rock cycle is a continuous process through which old rocks are transformed into
new ones.
• Igneous rocks are primary rocks, and other rocks form from these rocks.
• Igneous rocks can be changed into sedimentary or metamorphic rocks.
• The fragments derived out of igneous and metamorphic rocks form into
sedimentary rocks.
• Sedimentary and igneous rocks themselves can turn into metamorphic rocks.
• The crustal rocks (igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary) may be carried down
into the mantle (interior of the earth) through subduction process and the same
meltdown and turn into molten magma, the source for igneous rocks
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath
KingMakers IAS Academy - Geography - Mr Bharath