Topic 2: landforms

and landscape
processes

Miss Masaga
 ROCKS
• A rock is a natural occurring solid cohesive aggregate of one or more
mineral or mineral materials.
• Mineral is a naturally occurring, solid, inorganic element or compound,
with a definite composition or range of compositions, usually possessing
a regular, internal crystalline structure.
• Rocks are broadly classified into 3 groups based on their formation,
chemistry, environment of formation and how they are formed.
 Types of rocks
• The 3 major types of rocks are
1. Igneous rock
2. Sedimentary rock
3. Metamorphic rocks
1. IGNEOUS ROCK

• There are two types of igneous rocks

a. Intrusive igneous rock
b. Extrusive igneous rock
 a) Intrusive igneous rock
• Formed when magma cools and solidifies below the earth’s surface e.g
granite, diorite, gabbro, periodotite.
• They have a coarse texture as a result of slow cooling giving minerals
more time to form large crystals.
• They are classified further into two
1. Hypabyssal rock- near the earth surface
2. Plutonic- deep below the surface
 b) Extrusive igneous rocks
• Rocks formed when lava solidifies on the earth’s surface
• Have fine texture due to fast cooling giving minerals less time to
collect together to form large crystals
• There are two types
i) Volcanic ejecta
ii) Lava flows
i) Volcanic ejecta- formed when ash and lava ejected
from underground falls on the earth’s surface e.g
pumice. Formed also then dust and ash ejected settle
on the ground and get compressed to form a rock e.g
tuff.
ii) Lava flows- formed when basic lava flows over a
considerable distance then cools and solidifies e.g
basalt and obsidian.
 Characteristics of igneous rocks
• They are the oldest rocks
• Rarely react with acids
• They are not in layers
• Made of two or more minerals
• Fine grained or glassy
 2. SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Rocks formed when particles of other rocks are laid down and
compressed into layers or when plant and animal remains are
buried and compressed and compacted
• When they are laid down a layer is formed
• As deposition continues additional layers are formed which
compress the lower layers into a hard mass.
 Types of sedimentary rocks
a) Mechanically formed sedimentary rock
b) Organically formed sedimentary rock
c) Chemically formed sedimentary rock
 a) Mechanically formed sedimentary rocks
• Formed when weathered igneous or metamorphic rocks are deposited
and compacted e.g sandstone, siltstone, clay, conglomerate, breccia and
shale.
• Breccia sedimentary rock- the gravel pebbles and boulders in this type
have a sharper, angular shape.
• Sandstone is formed when sand particles are deposited by water and
wind and bind them together to form a porous rock mass
• Shale- is a soft, brittle, non-porous rock and smooth textured rock.
Colors vary from reddish-brown to green. It results due to binding
together of clay particles and sand in shallow water bodies.
• Clay- a fine grained rock deposited in water or found in vleis
• Conglomerate sedimentary-is made up of rounded gravel and
pebbles and smaller particles. The small particles will fill up the
spaces between the large particles as they bind together.
b) Organically formed sedimentary rocks

• Sedimentary rocks formed when animal and plant

or animal remains are buried, compressed and
compacted.
 Classification of organically formed sedimentary rocks
i. Calcareous rocks- rich in calcium carbonate e.g chalk and limestone.
Coral rocks are formed from remains of sea polyps which extract lime
from the sea, build shells for protection, attach themselves to each
other and rocks to live in colonies, then die and shells to form coral
rocks.
ii. Ferruginous rocks- rich in iron e.g ironstone
iii. Siliceous rocks- rich in silica e.g diatomite
iv. Carbonaceous rocks- rich in carbon example coal
• Coal- is a black rock with a high carbon content. It is
formed when plant and animal matter decay in the
absence of oxygen in swamps.
• Limestone- is a result of seawater organisms such as
polyps and shellfish accumulate on the sea bed.
• Peat- is a soft fibrous brown rock in the early stages of
coal formation.
c) Chemically formed sedimentary rocks

• Formed when materials dissolved in water chemically

react forming new substances then water evaporates
leaving layers of those salts
Classification of chemically formed sedimentary rocks

i) carbonates- trona and dolomite

ii) Sulphates- sulphate compounds
iii) Chlorides- halite
iv) Silicates- flint
v) Iron stones- haematite and limonite
 Characteristics of sedimentary rocks
• Often contains fossils
• Have great color variety
• Usually have pores between pieces
• Are in layers ( bedding planes )
• Particles are of the same or vary
3. METAMORPHIC ROCKS

• Rocks which have changed their physical

appearance and chemical properties as a result of
subjection to great heat and pressure for example
gneiss, slate, marble, quartzite, soapstone, schist,
phyllite and novaculite
• Slate- is produced from clay/ shale. It contains very fine
crystals which are mainly formed by small plates created from
mica. Slate is used to produce writing slates, blackboards.
• Marble- it is a coarse grained crystalized rock which has been
formed from limestone or dolomite
• Quartzite- it is very hard and is created from sandstone
• Gneiss from granite.
 Characteristics of metamorphic rocks
• May be composed of only 1 mineral like marble and quartzite
• Rarely have fossils
• Have alternative bends of light and dark minerals.
• Are usually made of crystals of different sizes.
• Rarely have pores or open space
• Have layers of visible crystals
• May react with acids.