Minerals and Rocks

From GeoClasses

Contents 1 Minerals 1.1 What is a mineral 1.2 Minerals from molten rock 1.3 Minerals from water 2 Rocks 2.1 The rock cycle 2.2 Types of rocks 2.3 Plate Tectonics 3 Links

Minerals

What is a mineral

Minerals from molten rock

• Silicates
• Iron oxides

Minerals from water

• Evaporitic minerals
• Biogenic minerals
• Hydrothermal precipitates
• Sulfides

Rocks

The rock cycle

• Weathering
• Erosion
• Metamorphism
• Melting of Rock

Types of rocks

• Igneous rocks
• Sedimentary rocks
• Metamorphic rocks

Plate Tectonics

Links

• Minerals in Your World
  • The Minerals in Your World CD is a collaborative effort between the U. S. Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov) and the Mineral Information Institute (www.mii.org) to provide a easy-to-use tool that explains the characteristics, sources, and uses of most commercially used minerals.

• Understanding Our Planet Through Chemistry
  • This U.S.Geological Survey site shows how chemists and geologists use analytical chemistry to: determine the age of the Earth; show an extraterrestrial body collided with the Earth; predict volcanic eruptions; observe atmospheric change over millions of years; and document damage by acid rain and pollution of the Earth's surface.

• What can soils tell us about the past that helps us today?
  • Part 3: Microfossils Used As Proxies For Environmental Conditions

• Western Lake Catchment Systems - Bear Lake Region
  • Section on Diatoms