The Rock Cycle

Do rocks last forever?

Stone Mountain

Patterns in the rock cycle form

by
Weathering and erosion
Deposition
Earthquakes and volcanic activities
Great heat and pressure
Melting Process

Events that create the

patterns

Surface Events Form Sedimentary Rocks

Weathering

Freezing
Thawing
Plant roots
Animals
Acid Rain

Erosion

Rain
Glaciers
Waves
Wind

Deposition

Example of one step model for

surface events

Weathering and Erosion

SedimentSediment
(Deposition)

(Deposition)

Sandstone

Sandstone

(Melting)(Heat & Pressure)

Magma

Quartzite

(Volcanic Activity)

Granite
(Melting)

Magma
(Volcanic Activity)

Granite

(Erosion)

Sediment

Granite

Events that create the patterns

(cont)

Subsurface events
Plate Tectonics It is believed that they move
based on the convection currents of the mantle.
Colliding plates raise mountains Ex. The Tibetan
Plateau

Events that create patterns

(cont)
Colliding plates produce volcanoes. What
happens here?
Once the plates collide, one plate sinks
toward the mantle. Rock that is carried by
the plate melt becoming magma. This
magma rises towards the surface. If it
reaches the surface it becomes volcanoes of
new igneous rocks.

Events that causes patterns

(cont)

The colliding plates produce great heat and

pressure, affecting the rocks in the plates.
They deform the rocks and change one type
into another. Ex. Sandstone Quartzite

Conclusion

The Rock Cycle has been occurring on Earth

since the formation of it. From the mass of
incandescent igneous rock that it was once,
the transformation has been incredible.
Earth is still evolving, the cycle has not
ended.