Rock Picture Gallery
IGNEOUS ROCK PICTURES (About Igneous Rocks)
Aa—A rugged form of basalt lava.
Andesite—The typical intermediate arc lava.
Anorthosite—A rare plutonic feldspar-only rock.
Basalt—A bubbly, crystally chunk of this igneous rock from Kilauea.
Diorite—A plutonic rock between granite and gabbro.
Dunite—A plutonic rock made of straight olivine.
Felsite—The volcanic version of granite.
Gabbro—The crystallized, plutonic version of basalt.
Granite—The rock that makes up the bulk of the continents.
Granodiorite—Almost diorite, except that this rock has quartz.
Lapillistone—A volcanic rock formed of little ash balls.
Obsidian—A useful volcanic glass.
Pahoehoe—Smooth-skinned flows of basalt lava.
Pegmatite—The igneous rocks with the biggest crystals.
Peridotite—Dark, dense, rarely seen rock from the Earth's mantle.
Perlite—A lightweight volcanic rock of great usefulness.
Porphyry—An igneous rock with large mineral grains in a fine matrix.
Pumice—A rock made from volcanic eruption products.
Pyroxenite—An uncommon ultramafic rock from the deep sea crust.
Quartz Monzonite—Just like granite, except it's short on quartz.
Rhyolite—The lava type with the highest silica content.
Scoria—A frothy volcanic product much like pumice.
Syenite—A plutonic, alkalic "granite-without-quartz."
Tuff—A rock made from volcanic ash.
Special Picture Galleries: Basalts, Granites, Obsidian, Pillow Lavas, Volcanic Rocks, Igneous Rock Textures
SEDIMENTARY ROCK PICTURES (About Sedimentary Rocks)
Agate—A semiprecious chert of infinite variety.
Alabaster—A white gypsum stone long prized for sculpture.
Arkose—A raw sandstone made from eroded granite.
Asphalt—Natural, from a natural oil seep.
Banded Iron Formation—Extremely ancient "tiger iron."
Breccia—Rock made from broken rocks, breccia has many forms.
Chert—A common siliceous rock type with much variety.
Coal—The original fossil fuel.
Conglomerate—Rocks made with extra-big grains.
Coquina—A limestone made from shell fragments.
Dolomite—An altered near-twin of limestone.
Graywacke—An impure sandstone also called wacke.
Gypsum Rock—A crusty chunk from a Nevada roadside.
Limestone—The greatest carbon-bearing rock.
Peat—Brown, vegetative precursor to coal.
Rock Salt—The only edible stone.
Sandstone—Where sand goes to and comes from.
Shale—Rock made from mud and clay.
Siltstone—Made from sediment finer than sand.
Travertine—A form of limestone created in springs.
Special Picture Galleries: Sedimentary Rocks, Limestones, Coquina, Concretions
METAMORPHIC ROCK PICTURES (About Metamorphic Rocks)
Amphibolite—High-grade rock, typically a hornblende schist.
Blueschist—Rock made by high-grade metamorphism in subduction zones.
Cataclasite—A ground-up rock found in fault zones.
Eclogite—The most extreme metamorphic rock you can find.
Gneiss—Banded, tough, it forms the lower crust.
Greenschist—Rock made by low-grade metamorphism of various rock types.
Greenstone—A dark rock made by metamorphism of basalt.
Hornfels—Tough and fine-grained, it forms where igneous rocks cook it.
Marble—The metamorphic version of limestone.
Migmatite—A swirly rock produced by extreme metamorphism.
Mylonite—A milled and melted rock from deep in fault zones.
Phyllite—Shiny, colorful rock made by metamorphism of slate.
Quartzite—Rugged rock made by metamorphism of sandstone.
Schist—Striped rock made by metamorphism of mudstones.
Serpentinite—Green, scaly metamorphosed ocean crust.
Slate—Platy rock made by early metamorphism of shale.
Soapstone—Soft and carvable, hydrothermally altered lava.
Special Picture Galleries: Metamorphic Rocks, Serpentinites, Slate, Phyllite
OTHER ROCKS
Chondrite Meteorite—The commonest type of space stone.
Fulgurite—Lightning striking sand makes this curious object.
Geodes—These rock-shop lumps have hollow, glittering interiors.
Iron Meteorite—Pieces of the cores of ancient asteroids.
Nakhlite (Mars Meteorite)—A Martian meteorite that fell of 1911.
Shergottite (Mars Meteorite)—A meteorite from the Martian mantle.
Tektite—A meteorite made from Earth's crust by large impacts.
Thunder Egg—Solid, agate-filled lumps found in certain volcanic lands.
Special Picture Galleries: Geodes, Meteorites, Fulgurites, Artificial Rocks, Pet Rocks
Other picture galleries:
Fossil Pictures
Glaciers and Ice Pictures
Landform Pictures
Mineral Pictures
Geologic Features and Processes Pictures
Geology and Society Pictures
Free Geologic Wallpaper Pictures
