Weathering
Videos
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs in situ, and so is distinct from erosion, whic
A natural arch produced by erosion of differentially weathered rock in Jebel Kharaz (Jordan)
A rock in Abisko, Sweden, fractured along existing joints possibly by frost weathering or thermal stress
Exfoliated granite sheets in Texas, possibly caused by pressure release
Tafoni at Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, California
Rock cycle
Videos
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
Weathering
…to create soil. Many of Earth's landforms and landscapes are the result of weathering, erosion and redeposition. Weathering is a crucial part of the rock cycle; sedimentary rock, the product of weathered rock, covers 66% of the Earth's continents and much of the ocean floor…
This diamond is a mineral from within an igneous or metamorphic rock that formed at high temperature and pressure
Structures of Igneous Rock. Legend: A = magma chamber (batholith); B = dyke/dike; C = laccolith; D = pegmatite; E = sill; F = stratovolcano; processes: 1 = newer intrusion cutting through older one; 2 = xenolith or roof pendant; 3 = contact metamorphism; 4 = uplift due to laccolith emplacement.