CHAPTER 3:

THE STUDY OF ROCKS

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 INTRODUCTION
• Rock is defined as a mixtures formed of aggregates of one or
more minerals (aggregate of minerals).

• Rocks can be formed by many different processes such as:

(1) Igneous - Crystallization of a melts – magma (intrusive) and lava (extrusive)

(2) Sedimentary - Solidifying sediments like sand or clay

(3) Metamorphic - Re-crystallizing previously formed rocks in the solid state

(4) Hydrothermal - Some are formed by crystallization from hot aqueous fluids
(watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4H4W0jiP2w sulfur mining indonesia)

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Cont’d

• Civil engineers have to deal with rock and soils during

various stages in the process of construction, build a
road, a tunnel, a slope or a dam.

• From the stage of planning to the execution of a

construction project.

• It becomes vital for engineers to have some basic

geological appreciation of rocks and soils in order to
understand the engineering limits and behavior of rocks
and soils under various conditions.

• Suitable background to the further study of soil

mechanics and foundation engineering.

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ROCK CYCLE

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CHAPTER 3.1:

IGNEOUS ROCKS

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 IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Defined as rocks which are normally crystalline in nature having
solidified from an original molten state or magma that exists for
long period of time beneath the surface of earth.

• Igneous rocks can be derived from the cooling of molten magma

or of lava from volcanic eruption.

• Frequently regarded as the parent material because they are the

first product to be formed from the cooling of magma.

• MAGMA is molten rock material generated in the certain zones

deep inside the earth's crust and possible in the upper zones of the
mantle.

• Magma moves from deeper zones to higher zones of the crust

through forceful injections into fractures and faults in the adjacent
rocks.
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 What Is Magma?
• Magma is hot molten mobile rock.

• Igneous rocks form when magma cools and solidifies.

• Magmas come out of active volcanoes as lavas.

• The most abundant magma is a melt of silicate composition and this can
carry suspended crystals and gases which bubble out in air.

• It is a mixture of liquid rock, crystals, and gas.

• Magmas are less dense than surrounding rocks, and therefore it will move
upward.

• If magma makes it to the surface it will erupt and later crystallize to form
an extrusive or volcanic rock.

• If it crystallizes before it reaches the surface it will form an igneous rock at

depth called a plutonic or intrusive igneous rock.
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•
Eruption of Magma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlH7pCK4H-s

• When magmas reach the surface of the Earth they erupt

from a vent and it may erupt explosively or non-
explosively.

• Non-explosive eruptions are favored by low gas

content and low viscosity magmas (basaltic to
andesitic magmas).

• Usually begin with fire fountains due to release of

dissolved gases.

• Produce lava flows on surface.

• Produce Pillow lavas if erupted beneath water.

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Cont’d

• Explosive eruptions are favored by high gas content

and high viscosity (andesitic to rhyolitic magmas).

• Expansion of gas bubbles is resisted by high

viscosity of magma - results in building of pressure .

• High pressure in gas bubbles causes the bubbles to

burst when reaching the low pressure at the Earth's
surface.

• Bursting of bubbles fragments the magma into

pyroclasts and tephra (ash).

• Cloud of gas and tephra rises above volcano to

produce an eruption column that can rise up to 45 km
into the atmosphere.
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Tephra that falls from the eruption column produces a tephra fall deposit

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 If eruption column collapses, a pyroclastic flow may occur, wherein gas and tephra
rush down the wings of the volcano at high speed. This is the most dangerous type of
volcanic eruption. The deposits that are produced are called ignimbrites

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 Grain size
Three types of rock can be identified based on predominant grain
Size that reflects the depth at which molten rocks form within the
Earth:

a) VOLCANIC ROCKS (EXTRUSIVE):

Solidify close to the Earth's surface. Because cool quickly
they have a finer-grained matrix called groundmass. They
may contain some larger crystals that formed earlier further
down called phenocrysts.

b) PLUTONIC ROCKS (INTRUSIVE):

Form deeper within the Earth and the slower cooling allows
them to crystallize as coarse-grained rocks.

c) HYPABYSSAL OR SUB VOLCANIC ROCKS:

Form at intermediate depths generally as dykes and sills and
so tend to be medium-grained.
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Classification of Igneous Rocks
• There are various ways of classifying igneous
rocks.

• The most significant are:-

(1) Mineralogical and chemical composition

(2) Rock texture (geological environment).

• Igneous rocks are either formed as Intrusive or

Extrusive Rocks.
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 Types of Igneous Rocks
Scientists have divided igneous rocks into two
broad categories based on where the molten rock
solidified.

• VOLCANIC OR EXTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS

Form when the magma cools and crystallizes on the
surface of the Earth.

• PLUTONIC OR INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS

Where in the magma crystallizes at depth in the
Earth.
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Intrusive and extrusive igneous rock bodies

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 Rock Texture
• The most important distinction (charactreristics) in igneous rocks is
texture, which is related to the size and shape of the constituent
crystallite grains.

• Igneous rocks have distinctive textures, characterized mostly by

the interlocking grains that grow from cooling magma.

• In Igneous rocks, the cooling history and environment is the

function of the formation of textures.

• Magmas located deep within the Earth's crust cools slowly and
thus the individual minerals grains may grow.

• In contrast, lava extruded at the Earth's surface cools rapidly,

where mineral grains do not have time to grow, therefore cannot
be seen without the aid of a microscope. The rocks appear
massive and structureless.
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 Rock Texture
• Consist of:

1.Phaneritic texture
2.Aphanetic texture
3.Glassy texture
4.Porphyritic texture
5.Vesicular Texture

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 Phaneritic texture
• Individual grains are large enough and
visible to naked eye.

• Grains approximately equal in size, form

interlocking mosaic and very coarse.

• Developed from magmas that cool slowly

and common in intrusive bodies.
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Examples of phaneritic rocks; phaneritic texture, consists of large grains
and can be seen unaided

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 Aphanetic texture
• Individual crystals are so small and cannot
be seen unaided.

• Rocks are massive and experienced rapid

cooling that there was no sufficient time for
the growth of large crystals.

• Characteristic of volcanic rock and some

intrusive rocks which lost its heat to the
surrounding country rock.

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Aphanetic texture consists of grains too small to be seen without a
microscope

BASALT

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 Glassy texture
• Similar to ordinary glass.

• Crystals cannot be discerned in a

glassy texture, even when the specimen
is viewed under high magnification e.g.
obsidian.

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A glassy texture develops when molten rock material cools so rapidly

Obsidian
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 Porphyritic texture
• Larger earlier formed crystals are enclosed
by a ground mass of smaller crystals.

• Cooling history of magma may begin slowly

initially which developed coarse crystals

• Then while partly crystallized the magma may

move to another environment in which the
cooling is more rapid which precipitate fine
crystals around the earlier coarse crystals.
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A hand sample and a thin section of porphyritic aphanitic textured rocks.
The porphyritic phaneritic texture results from two stages of cooling

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 Vesicular Texture
• This term refers to vesicles (holes, pores, or cavities)
within the igneous rock.

• Vesicles result from gas expansion (bubbles), which

often occurs during volcanic eruptions.

• Pumice and scoria are common types of vesicular rocks.

• The image below shows a basalt with vesicles, hence

the name "vesicular basalt".

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Vesicular rocks

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Pumice

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Scoria

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 Chemical and Mineralogical Composition
• The chemical and mineralogical composition of igneous rocks is a
reflection of the composition of magma from which the rocks
crystallized.

• Magma is variable in composition, most importantly in the amount of

silica (Si02) that they contain.

• The silica content ranges from less than 45% to more than 66%.

• Rocks that are rich in silica are called silicic or felsic (Acid), rocks and
those that are low in silica content are called mafic rocks (Basic).

• Color provides a valuable clue for identification igneous rocks because

the silicic rocks are mainly composed of lightly colored minerals like
quartz and feldspar, whereas the mafic rocks are dark colored because
of the abundance ferromagnesian minerals. The dark colored
ferromagnesian minerals are rich in iron and magnesium, include olivine,
pyroxene and hornblende.

• The major igneous rock types fall into categories of high, intermediate and
low silica content. 30
Cont’d

Silica content (SiO2) controls the minerals that

crystallize is used to further classify igneous
rocks as follows:

• Acid (> 63% silica) : mostly feldspar minerals and

quartz, (e.g. Granite).

• Intermediate (55% - 63% silica) : mostly Plagioclase,

Hornblende, Orthoclase & biotite, (e.g. Diorite).

• Basic (45 to 55% silica) : mostly dark minerals plus

plagioclase feldspar and/or feldspathoid minerals, (e.g.
Basalt).

• Ultra basic (< 45% silica) : mostly dark minerals such

as olivine and pyroxene, (e.g. Peridotite).
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 Classification of Igneous Rock
ULTRA
ACID INTERMEDIATE BASIC
BASIC

Crystalline Feldspar
Texture Orthoclase - Plagioclase

Extrusive Fine Rhyolite Trachyte Andesite Basalt Ultrabasic

lavas
(Usual Medium Microgranite Microsyenite Microdiorite Dolerite Peridotite
Occurrence) porphyry
Coarse Granite Syenite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite
Intrusive

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Classification of Igneous Rock

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 Formation of Igneous Rocks
(a) Intrusive Processes:

• Intrusive rocks which cool and solidify under pressure and at great depths
are usually wholly crystalline in texture, since the conditions of cooling
are conducive to crystal formation.

• Such rocks occur in masses of great extent, often going to unknown

depths.

• Although originally formed deep underground, intrusive rocks are now

widely exposed because of earth movement and erosion processes.

• Intrusion refers to the movement of magma from a magma chamber to

a different subsurface location.

• Bodies of rock formed by the intrusive magma are called plutons.

• Rocks that make up plutons usually have phaneritic texture because the
cooling time was sufficient to allow the formation of large crystals. 34
 Types of Plutons
• Plutons differ in terms of size, shape and relationship to
the rocks that were intruded by the magma, which are
older rocks known as country rocks.

• Common ones are:

(a) Dykes
(b) Sills
(c) Laccoliths
(d) Batholiths

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 Dykes
• Tabular or wall like
mass.

• Results from magma

injected into cracks
and joints in rocks.

• Vary in width from a few

cm to a few meters but
not more than 3 meters
wide.

• Largest known dyke in

Zimbabwe, Africa which
is 600 km long and Magnificent volcanic dike outside La Palma,
average width of 10 km. Canary Islands 36
 Sills
• Rising magma follows path of least resistance
such as bedding plane, which separates
layers of sedimentary rock.

• Magma injected between the layers form

tabular intrusive body parallel to layering.

• Sills range from few centimeters to hundreds

of meters thick and can extend to several
kilometers.

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 Laccoliths
• Viscous magma injected between layers of
sedimentary rock, tend to uparched the
overlying strata forming mushroom shaped.

• Usually thicker in center and thinner near

margin and may give rise to dome shaped hill.

• Can be several kilometers in diameter and

thousands of meters thick and typically
porphyritic.

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 Batholiths
• Largest rock bodies in the Earth's
crust, generally granitic composition.

• Cover several thousand square kilometers

and may be 60 km thick.

• Typically form in the deeper zones of

mountain belts and are exposed only
after considerable uplift and erosion.
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Types of plutons

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 Extrusive Processes
• Extrusive rocks are formed from the violent eruption
of volcanoes, fissures or cracks in the earth's
cracks.

• Some materials will be emitted with gaseous

extrusions into the atmosphere, where they will cool
quickly and eventually fall to the earth's surface as
volcanic ash and dust.

• The main product of volcanic action is a lava flow

emitted from within the earth as a molten stream which
flows over surface of the existing ground until it
solidifies.

• Extrusive rocks are generally distinguished by their usual

fine-grained texture. 41
A Grouping of Igneous Rocks
Mode of
Rock Types Rock Textures
formation

EXTRUSIVE Lavas Glassy or fine-grained

Minor Fine to moderately

Intrusions coarse-texture
INTRUSIVE
Major
Coarsely crystalline
Intrusions

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 Examples of Igneous rock
• Granite

• Basalt

• Gabbro

• Diorite

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 Granite
• Granite characterized by a granular texture, has
feldspar and quartz (at least 20%) as its two most
abundant minerals.

• In consequence most granite is light-coloured, Biotite

or hornblende or both are also present in most granite
with accessory apatite, magnetite and sphene.

• Granites can be fine, medium or coarse-grained

depending on grain sizes of the essential minerals and
porphyritic or non porphyritic depending on the absence
or presence of phenocrysts (usually alkali feldspar)
and/or muscovite.

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45
 Granite

Close-up of granite from Yosemite National Park,

valley of the Merced River

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 Basalt
• Basalt is dark coloured (black to medium grey),
fine grained (aphanitic) igneous rock.

• Composed of plagioclase, feldspar, pyroxene

and magnetite with or without olivine and contain
more than 53% by weight of SiO2.

• Most basalts are non porphyritic but some

contain phenocrysts of plagioclase, olivine and
pyroxene.

• Basalt is the world's most abundant lava and is

very widespread. 47
 Basalt

Pillow basalts on the south Pacific

An active basalt lava flow seafloor
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 Gabbro
• Gabbro is dark coloured, coarse-grained, granular basic igneous rock
consisting of essential calcium rich plagioclase, feldspar (approximately
60% augite and orthopyroxene plus or, minus olivine with accessory
magnetite or ilmenite.

• Gabbros result from slow crystallization of magmas of basaltic

composition.

• Gabbro is widely distributed in both large and small masses.

• Dykes and thin sills of fine-grained gabbro are especially common.

• In most of these small intrusions, the mineral grains are so small that they
are barely recognizable without aid of microscope.

• Such gabbros, intermediate in grain size between basalt and normal

grabbro, are called dolerite.

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Gabbro

Gabbro specimen; Rock Creek Canyon,

eastern Sierra Nevada, California

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 Diorite
• Diorite - is an intermediate, coarse-grained,
granular igneous rock with up to 10% quartz,
plagioclase and lesser amount of
ferromagnesian minerals.

• The most common ferromagnesian minerals are

hornblende, biotite and pyroxene.

• In general, diorite masses are much smaller

than those of granites or granodiorite.

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Diorite

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 Crystallization of Magma
• Crystallization of magma is not a simple process.

• An experiment done by N.L.Bowen (Figure 3.6) in early 1900s

demonstrated that minerals crystallize sequentially as the
temperature drops in a silicate magma and that solid crystals
can react with the liquid phase of the magma to form new
minerals during the crystallization process.

• To explain crystallization process, assuming that initially we have a

basaltic composition at about 1500°C.

• As temperature is slightly lowered, crystals begin to separate

from the liquid.

• There are two crystallization sequences that are observed as the

melt cools.
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 First sequence - crystallization of plagioclase
• This is solid-solution series between calcium-rich and
sodium rich compositions.

• The first plagioclase crystals to form are higher in

calcium content than the calcium content of the liquid
phase.

• As the mixture continues to cool, the crystals that form

have progressively less calcium and more sodium than
the original plagioclase crystals.

• The crystallization of plagioclase follows what is called a

continuous reaction series, in which the liquid and the
crystals continuously change in composition until no
liquid remains.
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 Second sequence - crystallization of ferromagnesian mineral

• The ferromagnesian minerals follow a second type of crystallization sequence.

• In this series, olivine is the first ferromagnesian mineral to crystallize.

• As the temperature decreases, no change in the olivine crystals occurs until a

critical temperature is reached.

• At this point, augite rather than olivine begins to crystallize and the early-formed
olivine crystals react with the liquid to form augite.

• These reactions are different from the continuous reaction of plagioclase

because entirely new minerals with different internal structures form at specific
temperatures.

• For this reason the ferromagnesian crystallization sequence is called a

discontinuous reaction series.

• The same type of reaction occurs between augite and liquid to form hornblende
at a lower temperature.

• The entire sequence of mineral crystallization is known as Bowen's Reaction

Series. 55
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 Engineering and Igneous Rocks
• Igneous rocks vary greatly in suitability for various types of engineering projects. An
engineering site investigation must answer two questions:

1) What rock types are present and how are they disturbed?

2) How have the rocks been changed or altered since formation?

• The geologists and engineers working on the project must determine the origin of
the igneous rock, its contacts with adjoining rock types and their conditions and
the mineralogy of the rocks.

• UNALTERED INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS generally are very suitable for most
types of engineering projects:

1) The interlocking of mineral crystals gives the rock great strength and thus
can provide adequate support for building or dam foundations can remain
stable at high angles in excavations and require minimal support in
tunnels.

2) Because of the dense interlocking of crystals within the rock, very little water
can flow through. Therefore, unaltered intrusive rocks are well suited for
construction of reservoirs because of the low potential for leakage.
57
Cont’d
• The engineering properties of EXTRUSIVE IGNEOUS rocks are much less uniform.

• Extrusive rocks contains pyroclastic materials and lahar deposits, which are
much weaker than crystalline rocks.

• These rocks may be susceptible to slope failures in excavations and also provide
more variable and generally weaker foundation support.

• In general, the water bearing capacity of extrusive rocks is much greater than
intrusive rocks. This property can render the rocks unsuitable for reservoir or
tunnel construction.

• WEATHERING produces other changes in the rock as well as fracturing. Chemical

reactions between the minerals within the rock and air and water gradually form new
minerals.

• Clay minerals are a common product of these alteration processes. The result is
a significant loss of strength as the feldspars and ferromagnesian minerals are
converted to clay.

• In warm humid climates, igneous rock bodies may be mantled with tens of meters
of weathered material. The engineering properties of this material are totally
different from the properties of unaltered rock.

• A network of fractures within a rock mass can greatly increase the potential for
failures of natural or excavated slopes and also increase the construction
problems of dams, tunnels and other structures. 58
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