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Sedimentary rocks are formed through the gradual accumulation of sediments: for example, sand on a beach or mud on a river bed. As the sediments are buried they get compacted as more and more material is deposited on top. Eventually the sediments will become so dense that they would essentially form a rock. This process is known as lithification.
Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded. The crystals are formed by the filling of vesicles in volcanic and subvolcanic rocks by minerals deposited from hydrothermal fluids ; or by the dissolution of syn-genetic concretions and partial filling by the same or other ...
Crystals found in rocks typically range in size from a fraction of a millimetre to several centimetres across, although exceptionally large crystals are occasionally found. As of 1999 [update] , the world's largest known naturally occurring crystal is a crystal of beryl from Malakialina, Madagascar , 18 m (59 ft) long and 3.5 m (11 ft) in ...
Well-formed crystals typically form as a druse (a layer of crystals lining a void), of which quartz geodes are particularly fine examples. [23] The crystals are attached at one end to the enclosing rock, and only one termination pyramid is present.
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 ...
Cumulate rock – Igneous rocks formed by the accumulation of crystals from a magma either by settling or floating. Flow banding – Bands or layers that can sometimes be seen in rock that formed from magma; Fractional crystallization (chemistry) – Method for refining substances based on differences in their solubility
Pyrite is the most common of sulfide minerals and is widespread in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is a common accessory mineral in igneous rocks, where it also occasionally occurs as larger masses arising from an immiscible sulfide phase in the original magma. It is found in metamorphic rocks as a product of contact metamorphism.
Euhedral (also known as idiomorphic or automorphic) crystals are those that are well-formed, with sharp, easily recognised faces. The opposite is anhedral (also known as xenomorphic or allotriomorphic), which describes rock with a microstructure composed of mineral grains that have no well-formed crystal faces or cross-section shape in thin ...