 Essential features (characteristics) of igneous rocks:

The most abundant rock in the earth's crust is none other than the igneous rock type. It alone accounts to about
90 percent of all rocks in the top layer of the earth's crust. The name igneous is coined after ignis, a Latin
word meaning fire. This rock possesses distinctive properties that separate it from the other rocks. Igneous
rocks are the oldest type of rocks on earth. The remaining two rock types (sedimentary and metamorphic) are
modifications of igneous rocks. They are the base rocks for development of different rock types, which we see
in and around us.. You can observe the classifiable characters of this rock with a simple magnifying glass.
 Distinguishing Features of Igneous Rocks:
Some important characteristics of igneous rocks are described below.
i. Igneous rocks are very hard (harder than sedimentary rocks) and resistant to elevated
temperature conditions. Resistance to extreme heat is understandable from the fact that these
rocks are formed from the hot and molten magma (625-1200° C), which occur beneath the
earth's surface. Igneous rocks are mostly associated with the volcanic activities and generally
found in the volcanic zones.
ii. Water:
In all, the igneous rocks are roughly hard rocks and water percolates with great difficulty
along the joints. Sometimes the rocks become so soft, due to their exposure to environmental
conditions for longer duration, that they can be easily dug out by a spade (e.g., basalt).
- Since water does not penetrate the rocks easily and hence igneous rocks are less affected by
chemical weathering but basalts are very easily weath-ered and eroded away when they come
in constant touch with water. Coarse grained igneous rocks are affected by mechanical or
physical weathering and thus the rocks are easily disintegrated and decom-posed.
iii. Texture:
Igneous rocks are granular or crystalline rocks but there are much variations in the size, form
and texture of grains because these properties largely depend upon the rate and place of
cooling and solidi-fication of magmas or lavas. For example, when the lavas are quickly
cooled down and solidified at the surface of the earth, there is no sufficient time for the
development of grains/crystals.
- Consequently, either there are no crystals in the resultant basaltic rocks or if there are some
crystals at all, they are so minute that they cannot be seen without the help of a microscope.
Contrary to this, if magmas are cooled and solidified at a very slow rate inside the earth, there
is sufficient time for the full development of grains, and thus the result-ant igneous rocks are
characterized by coarse grains.
iv. Fossil:
The important characteristic that differentiates them from sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks is the absence of fossils. Since they are formed at a relatively fast rate, there is no
chance for entrapment of plant and animal traces. Read more on igneous rock facts.
v. Layers:
Igneous rocks do not have strata like sedi-mentary rocks. When lava flows in a region occur
in several phases, layers after layers of lavas are depos-ited and solidified one upon another
and thus there is some sort of confusion about the layers or strata but actually these are not
strata rather these are layers of lavas.
- Such examples may be seen anywhere in the Western Ghats where several lava flows during
Creta-ceous period resulted into the formation of thick basal-tic cover having numerous layers
of lavas of varying compositions. One can see such lava layers near Khandala or along the
deeply entrenched valleys of Koyna River, Krishna River, Saraswati river etc.in and around
Mahabaleshwar plateau.
vi. Color:
Color is another attribute used for classification of igneous rocks. It again depends upon the
chemical composition of magma. Chemically, magma is grouped under - felsic magma,
intermediate magma (between felsic and mafic), mafic magma and ultramafic magma.
-Felsic igneous rocks are light-colored (e.g., rhyolite) and contain silica to about 65%.
Whereas, mafic rocks contain lesser amount of silica (up to 52%), and are generally darker in
shade (e.g., gabbro). Lastly, silica content is lowest in ultramafic igneous rocks (less than
45%), and they occur rarely (e.g., peridotite).
vii. Joints:
The number of joints increases upward in any igneous rock. The joints are formed due to:
 -Cooling and contraction,
-Expansion and contraction during mechanical weathering,
-Decrease in superincumbent load due to removal of materials through denudational
processe
-Earth movement caused by isostatic disturbances.
Whenever these joints are plugged by minerals, the rocks become quite hard and resistant to
weathering and erosion.
 Essential features (characteristics) of sedimentary rocks:
The following are the twelve main characteristics of sedimentary rocks.
i. Fossils:
Sedimentary rocks are formed of sediments derived from the older rocks, plant and animal remains
and thus these rocks contain fossils of plants and animals. The age of the formation of a given
sedimen-tary rock may be determined on the basis of the analysis of the fossils to be found in that
rock.
ii. Common:
Sedimentary rocks are found over the largest surface area of the globe. It is believed that about 75 per
cent of the surface area of the globe is covered by sedimentary rocks whereas igneous and
metamorphic rocks cover the remaining 25 per cent area. Inspite of their largest coverage the
sedimentary rocks constitute only 5 per cent of the composition of the crust whereas 95 per cent of the
crust is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Thus, it is obvious that the sedi-mentary rocks
are important for extent, not for depth in the earth’s crust.
iii. Stratigraphy:
The deposition of sediments of various types and sizes to form sedimentary rocks takes place in
certain sequence and system. The size of sediments decreases from the littoral margins to the centre of
the water bodies or sedimentation basins. Different sediments are consolidated and compacted by
differ-ent types of cementing elements e.g., silica, iron com-pounds, calcite, clay etc.
iv. Sedimentary rocks contain several layers or strata but these are seldom crystalline rocks.
v. Like igneous rocks sedimentary rocks are not found in massive forms such as batholiths, laccoliths,
dykes etc.
vi. Deformation of beds:
Layers of sedimentary rocks are seldom found in original and horizontal manner. Sedimentary layers
are generally deformed due to lateral compressive and tensile forces. The beds are folded and found in
anticlinal and synclinal forms. Tensile and compressive forces also create faults due to dislocation of
beds.
vii. Consolidation:
Sedimentary rocks may be well consolidated, poorly consolidated and even unconsolidated. The
composition of the rocks depends upon the nature of cementing elements and rock forming minerals.
viii. Joints:
Sedimentary rocks are characterized by dif-ferent sizes of joints. These are generally perpendicu-lar to
the bedding planes.
ix. Supperpostion:
The connecting plane between two consecu-tive beds or layers of sedimentary rocks is called bedding
plane. The uniformity of two beds along a bedding plane is called conformity (i.e., when beds are
similar in all respect). When two consecutive beds are not uniform or conformal, the structure is
called unconformity. In fact, ‘an unconformity is a break in a stratigraphic sequence resulting from a
change in con­ditions that caused deposition to cease for a consider­able time’.
-There are several types of unconformity e.g.:
(i) Non-conformity (where sedimentary rocks succeed igneous or metamorphic rocks),
(ii) Angular unconformity (where horizontal sedimentary beds are deposited over previ-ously folded
or tilted strata),
(iii) Disconformity (where two conformable beds are separated by mere changes of sediment type)
(iv) Paraconformity (where two sets of conformable beds are separated by same types of sediments)
etc.
x. Size of beds:
Sedimentation units in the sedimentary rocks having a thickness of greater than one centimetre are
called beds. The upper and lower surfaces of a bed are called bedding planes or bounding planes.
 Sometimes the lower surface of a bed is called sole while the upper surface is known as upper
bedding surface. There are further sedimentary units within a bed.
-The units having a thickness of more than one centimetre are called as layers or strata whereas the
units below one centimetre thickness are known as laminae. Thus, several strata and laminae make up
a bed. When the beds are deposited at an angle to the depositional surface, they are called cross beds
and the general phenomena of inclined layers are called cross lamination or cross bedding.
xi. Distinguish structural shapes:
Soft muds and alluvia deposited by the rivers during flood period develop cracks when baked in the
sun. These cracks are generally of polygonal shapes. Such cracks are called as mud cracks or sun
cracks
xii. Porosity:
Most of the sedimentary rocks are perme-able and porous but a few of them are also non-porous and
impermeable. The porosity of the rocks depends upon the ratio between the voids and the volume of a
given rocks mass.
 Essential feature(structural) of metamorphic rock:
i. Foliation:
May have bent or curved foliation. The most common characteristic of Metamorphic rocks are their
foliation. Since most metamorphic rocks especially high grade are subject to deformation and stresses,
this causes the minerals in the rock to reorient according to the stress acting on the rock. On an
outcrop, a metamorphic rock possess unique foliations which are evidences of deformation it has
passed through. So you might see a slaty cleavage, a schistosity, a gneissosity,these all points to a
metamorphic rocks.
ii. Unique minerals:
The mineral assemblages of a metamorphic rocks is unique. Most metamorphic rocks possess index
minerals indicating grades of their metamorphism.
iii. Rarely has fossils.
iv. May react with acid.
v. May have alternate bands of light and dark minerals.
vi. May be composed of only one mineral, ex. marble & quartzite.
vii. Crystals:
May have layers of visible crystals. Metamorphic rocks are always crystalline (they have crystals) and
the amount of time they take cooling depends on the size of these crystals.
-Usually made of mineral crystals of different sizes.
viii. Rarely has pores or openings.