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This article discusses how rocks are formed. There are also articles on physical rock formations, rock layerings , and the formal naming of geologic formations. Terrestrial rocks are formed by three main mechanisms: Sedimentary rocks are formed through the gradual accumulation of sediments: for example, sand on a beach or mud on a river bed. As ...
This diamond is a mineral from within an igneous or metamorphic rock that formed at high temperature and pressure. The rock cycle is a basic concept in geology that describes transitions through geologic time among the three main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Each rock type is altered when it is forced out of its ...
Metamorphic rocks are formed by subjecting any rock type—sedimentary rock, igneous rock or another older metamorphic rock—to different temperature and pressure conditions than those in which the original rock was formed. This process is called metamorphism, meaning to "change in form". The result is a profound change in physical properties ...
Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a large sandstone formation in Northern Territory, Australia.. Sedimentary rocks can be subdivided into four groups based on the processes responsible for their formation: clastic sedimentary rocks, biochemical (biogenic) sedimentary rocks, chemical sedimentary rocks, and a fourth category for "other" sedimentary rocks formed by impacts, volcanism, and other minor processes.
Igneous rock (igneous from Latin igneus 'fiery'), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust.
It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. [1] [2] A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form.
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A mushroom rock, rock pedestal, or gour is a typical mushroom-shaped landform that is formed by the action of wind erosion. At an average height of two to three feet (0.6 to 0.9 m) from the base, the material-carrying capacity of the wind is at its maximum, so abrasion (erosion by wind in which transported materials hit an exposed rock surface ...