Pyrite

We just learned that rocks are made up of minerals, and that minerals are the building blocks of the world.

One type of mineral is called pyrite.
It is a shiny metal that looks so much like gold that people called it fool's gold because people would discover it and think they had real gold and were rich.

The metal pyrite is actually made up of iron and sulfur combined together.


(from: wikipedia - pyrite)


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Minerals

We just learned about the rock Petoskey.

We've learned about how rocks are mostly made up of other types of rocks that have either been squished together, melted together or piled on top of each other.

The building blocks of rocks are called minerals.
Some types of minerals are like crystals, and some are more like metals.

When these minerals get crushed, melted or squished together, they can make up rocks.

Like the rock marble that we learned about before is made up of the minerals calcite and dolomite.
(from: wikipedia - marble)


(from: wikipedia - calcite)


(from: wikipedia - dolomite)


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Petoskey Stone

We just learned about the rock Mudstone.

Sometimes when sedimentary rocks are being formed, the small tiny pieces of rock fall on top of dead animals, and they can turn into rocks called fossils.

The bones of the dead animals get slowly squished by all the small tiny rock pieces, and they get hardened to the point that they turn into rocks.

One type of fossil is a petoskey stone.

It is made from very old coral that was in the lakes in Northeastern part of Michigan's lower peninsula.

(from: wikipedia - petoskey stone)


(from: wikipedia - petoskey stone)


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Mudstone

We just learned about the igneous rock pumice.

Another type of sedimentary rock is called Mudstone.

Just like the name sounds, mud stone is made from mud and clay that has collected over time, dried up and hardened to rock. It usually even still looks like mud that is dried, but it is a hard rock.

(from: wikipedia - mudstone)


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Pumice

We just learned about the metamorphic rock Slate.

Another type of igneous rock is called Pumice.
Pumice is made up mostly of volcanic glass, and it has tiny holes all through it like bubbles.
Because there are so many holes in it, pumice is very light and sometimes can even float on top of water!

Pumice is very rough to touch, so sometimes it is used to scrub the bottoms of people's feet to help scrub away old skin and make their feet soft again like a baby's feet.

(from: wikipedia - pumice)


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Slate

We've learned now about sandstone, marble, basalt and limestone rock.

Another type of metamorphic rock is slate.

Slate is made up of volcanic ash and clay that has been squished together over many years, until they become hard and flat.

(from: wikipedia - slate)

Since slate is so hard and flat, it was used to build many things like roof tiles.

(from: wikipedia - slate)


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Limestone

We've learned now about sandstone, marble and basalt rock.

There are so many types of rocks!

Another very common rock is limestone, which is a sedimentary rock, mostly made up of types of crystals or small pieces of coral.

(from: wikipedia - limestone)

Most of the caves in the world are made up of limestone, because the stone can be washed away and formed by water flowing against it.


carlsbad caverns national park.

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Basalt

We just learned that marble is a type of metamorphic rock.

Basalt is a type of igneous rock, that means it comes from lava.

If you look at a basalt rock, sometimes you can see lines on the rock and that is the direction that the lava was flowing before it cooled down and turned into rock.

(from: wikipedia - igneous rock)


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Marble

We just learned that sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock.

Marble is a type of metamorphic rock. It's name comes from the Greek word for shining stone.
Because it's so shiny, it's used to carve things like sculptures and buildings.

The little round marble balls you use for playing games are usually made of glass, but there are some marbles made out of marble, and they're sometimes called Alley or real marbles.

(from: wikipedia - marble)


(from: wikipedia - marble)


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Sandstone

We've learned now that there are three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary.

One type of sedimentary rock is called sandstone.
Like the name sounds, it's made up of pieces of sand piling up on top of sand over years and years.
The small sand pieces are sediments, so that means it is a sedimentary type of rock.


(from: wikipedia - sandstone)


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Metamorphic rock

There are three main types of rocks in our world.

We've learned about two types of rock now:
Igneous rock which is made from cooled lava.
Sedimentary rock which is made from water flowing over and leaving tiny pieces of dirt over thousands of years.

The third type of rock is metamorphic rock.
The word metamorphism means change in form.

These kinds of rocks are formed when two other rocks are squished together very hard for many many years.
Scientists can even look at the insides of the rock to figure out which types of rocks were squished together.


(from: wikipedia - metamorphic rock)

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Sedimentary Rock

We just learned a lot about lava, like the Lava Lake.

We've already learned that one type of rock is igneous rock, and it is made from cooled lava.

Another type of rock is sedimentary rock.
That type of rock is made when water flows along and leaves dirt and other parts in a pile over and over through thousands of years.

(from: wikipedia - sedimentary rock)


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Igneous Rocks

We just learned about Volcanic Ash that comes out of volcanoes.

When hot lava cools down and turns into rock,
that type of rock is called igneous rock.


(from: wikipedia - igneous rock)



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