The 3 Different Names Of Rocks With Examples
 

Whether you’re an avid rockhound or someone who just loves nature, you notice rocks everywhere. Fact is, you can’t even take the dog for a walk down the street without stepping on them. Rocks are everywhere you look.

And with so many rocks everywhere around us, you may be surprised to learn that there’s really only three different kinds of rocks out there.  I know when I first learned this is kind of blew me away!

So if you’re interested in learning about what those three types of rocks are, as well as learning what some examples of each type of rock are…then keep on reading!

Let’s get right to it!

3 Types Of Rocks
 

In short, there are three different types of rocks that every rock you meet can be classified as.  The three types of rocks are:

Igneous Rocks 
Metamorphic Rocks 
Sedimentary Rocks 

1. Igneous Rocks
The first type of rock on this list are the igneous type of rocks. Igneous rocks are more than just  a cool name. They’re actually cool in another way.

Igneous rocks are actually cooled and hardened magma. That means that Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock from deep within the earth rises to the surface (lava) and cools.  Sometimes the magma will cool inside the earth before it even reaches the surface.

It’s this cooling period that decides what kind of igneous rocks that magma turns into. Because there’s two types of Igneous rocks.  

Intrusive
Extrusive
Intrusive Igneous Rock
Intrusive igneous rocks form when magma cools slowly thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface. Most intrusive rocks have large, well-formed crystals. Examples of intrusive igneous rocks include granite, gabbro, diorite and dunite.

Extrusive Igneous Rock
Extrusive igneous rocks form when magma reaches the Earth’s surface a volcano and cools quickly. Most extrusive (volcanic) rocks have small crystals. Examples of extrusive igneous rocks include basalt, rhyolite, andesite, and obsidian.

Extrusive Igneous Rock
Extrusive igneous rocks form when magma reaches the Earth’s surface a volcano and cools quickly. Most extrusive (volcanic) rocks have small crystals. Examples of extrusive igneous rocks include basalt, rhyolite, andesite, and obsidian.

2. Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed at the surface of the Earth. This can take place either in water or on land. Sedimentary rocks are exactly what they sound like…sediment.

Sedimentary type rocks are layered accumulations of different kinds of sediments, such as fragments of rocks, minerals, and even animal and plant material.

Most sedimentary rocks become cemented together by the minerals and chemicals that they contain.  Sometimes these layers are even held together by electrical attraction. But they’re are also sedimentary rocks that never really fuse together and remain loose.

All of these multiple layers of sedimentary rock generally run parallel (or nearly parallel) to the Earth’s surface. But you’ll also notice while out in the field that some of these layers run at high angles, and are not parallel to the earth’s surface.  If you see this, then you know that there’s been some kind of major geological movement that moved that layer of rock after it was formed.

As a matter of fact, sedimentary rocks are forming around us all the time.

Sand and gravel on beaches or in river bars look like the sandstone and conglomerate that they will eventually become.
Compacted and dried mud flats harden into shale.
Scuba divers who have seen mud and shells settling on the floors of lagoons find it easy to understand how sedimentary rocks form.

All together, there are three basic types of sedimentary rock:

Clastic sedimentary rocks – such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale are formed from mechanical weathering debris.

Chemical sedimentary rocks – such as rock salt, iron ore, chert, flint, some dolomites, and some limestones, form when dissolved minerals precipitate from solution.

Organic sedimentary rocks – such as coal, some dolomites, and some limestones, form from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.

Sedimentary Rocks Examples
Below are a few examples of the most popular types of sedimentary rocks.

Brecia – Brecia are clastic sedimentary rocks made up of angular rock broken parts that are cemented together. The broken pieces are similar to conglomerate because of their large pea-sizes. Breccias are commonly found along fault zones and they take any color.
 

Conglomerate – Conglomerates are clastic sedimentary rocks composed of semi-rounded rock fragments that are cemented together.  Conglomerate fragments are commonly deposited along the shoreline or stream channel and they are pea-sized or larger. They’re also referred to as pudding stone.

 
Sandstone – Sandstones are clastic sedimentary rocks that are made up of sand grains that have been cemented together. Sandstones vary from fine-grained to coarse grained are readily distinguishable by the naked eyes. Mature sandstones or quartz sandstones are light-colored and majorly consist of rounded and well-sorted quartz grains.

Shale – Shale consists of clay minerals or clay-sized pieces that have been compacted by the weight of the overlying rock. Shale belongs to clastic sedimentary rocks and they tend to split into fairly flat pieces. They are generally a good source of fossils and are mostly found at the bottom of lakes or oceans.

3. Metamorphic Rocks
Finally, Metamorphic rocks. What are they? Well, sometimes the other two types of rocks, sedimentary and igneous rocks, can be under such high pressures or intense heat so high that the rocks actually “morph”, or change. These changes rocks become metamorphic rocks.

This change to metamorphic rock takes place very deep within the earth’s crust. The process of this change does not melt the rocks like you would think, but instead what it does is literally transform them into rocks that are more dense and compact.

Metamorphic Rocks Examples
Below are a few examples of the most popular types of metamorphic rocks. 

Quartzite – Quartzite is a coarse-grained metamorphic rock derived from sandstone. Heat and pressure combine to fuse grains of quartz sand that make up the composition of quartzite.

Marble – Marble is a metamorphic rock that comes from metamorphosed limestone or dolomite. It can be most any color including white, black, reds, greens, and more and is used as building materials for its strength and beauty.

Slate – Slate is a fined grained metamorphic rock. Shale is the parent rock. It is made up of clay minerals.

Schist –Schist is a coarse grained metamorphic rock and shale is the parent rock. If you look at a piece of this metamorphic rock on the right you may be able to see crystals of the minerals that make up the rock.

Gneiss – is a medium to course grained metamorphic rock. Shale is the typical parent rock. It is made up of clay minerals. Shale can metamorphose into slate, phyllite, schist or gneiss depending on the degree of heat and pressure.

Conclusion
So there you have it…all three different types of rocks with a few examples of each kind. So what kind of rock do you have in your collections.  Which kind do you have near by your favorite rock collecting site.