Rocks. Landforms, minerals and rocks / Горные породы. Формы рельефа, минералы и горные породы

Rocks are the foundations upon which humans and other forms of life on Earth stand. Rock makes up the solid outer skin of planet Earth, as well as the molten and solid layers of Earth’s interior. Across the wide span of geologic time, no rock remains the same. Rocks begin as volumes of magma (hot, fluidlike mixtures of minerals, gases, and steam) that slowly rise and cool into igneous rocks at or near Earth’s surface. Exposed to the elements on the surface over long time intervals, igneous rocks may crack, flake, and break apart to provide the basic materials for deposits of sedimentary rock. After being subjected to high temperatures, high pressures, or bathed in chemical solutions, igneous and sedimentary rock may become metamorphic rock or revert into magma if conditions are particularly intense. The first part of this book provides the reader with a general treatment of rocks and their important properties, while the remainder of the book considers the three major types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. <...>