THE EARTH’S LITHOSPHERE

LITHOSPHERE

- lithos for "rocky“- Sphaira for “sphere”- The outermost shell of a

rocky planet defined on the basis of the mechanical properties.

THE LITHOSPHERE IS SOLID AND HARD BECAUSE IT IS MADE OF ROCKS. ROCKS MAY BE COMPOSED OF A SINGLE MINERAL OR GROUP OF MINERALS.

ROCKS

ROCKS ARE HARD AND SOLID. THESE PROPERTIES MAINTAIN THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH DESPIRE THE MULTITUDE OF FORCES ACTING ON IT.

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS

IGNEOUS ROCKS SEDIMENTARY ROCKS METAMORPHIC ROCKS

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS

IGNEOUS ROCKS GRANITE RHYOLITE SCORIA ANDESITE OBSIDIAN GABBRO BASALT

IGNEOUS ROCKS

IGNEOUS ROCKS ARE FORMED FROM MOLTEN MATERIALS CALLED MAGMA THAT CRYSTALLIZE FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

TYPES OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

GRANITE ROCKS

It is composed of four minerals: quartz, feldspar, amphibole, and mica. It is light in color and phaneritic in texture.

RHYOLITE ROCKS

The fine-grained equivalent of granite. Light gray to pinkish in color.

SCORIA ROCKS

Volcanic rock is composed of many holes. The holes are formed when gases escape as magma solidifies.

ANDESITE ROCKS

Porphytic igneous rock is abundant at the base of the Andes Mountain Ranges.

OBSIDIAN rocks

IGNEOUS ROCK APPEARING AS A CHUNK OF SYNTHETIC GLASS.

GABBRO rocks

Dark, coarse grained equivalent of basalt

BASALT rocks

Dark in color, fine grained, hard and denser than granite, this rock forms the ocean floor.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary rocks are formed from small particles like weathering and erosion.

TYPES OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

SANDSTONE

Sandstone is part of the sedimentary rock family. Quartz is what sandstone is made up of. They are made, when the wind or water, moves the sand in.

CONGLOMERATE ROCKS

 It is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. 

SHALE ROCKS

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite.

LIMESTONE ROCKS

It is composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate.

LIGNITE ROCKS

is a soft brown combustible sedimentary rock that is formed from naturally compressed peat.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

METAMORPHIC ROCKS ARE ROCKS THAT CHEMICALLY CHANGED IN FORM, STRUCTURE, AND COMPOSITION UNDER GREAT HEAT AND PRESSURE.

TYPES OF METAMORPHIC ROCKS

GNEISS ROCKS

 a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.

SLATE ROCKS

 fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism.

MARBLE ROCKS

a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.

ANTHRACITE ROCKS

a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a highluster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest calorific content of all types of coal.