List of rock types facts for kids

Rocks are all around us! From tiny pebbles to huge mountains, rocks make up a big part of our Earth. Geologists, who are scientists who study rocks, group them into three main types. These types are igneous rock, metamorphic rock, and sedimentary rock. Each type forms in a different way, telling us a story about Earth's past.

Exploring Earth's Amazing Rocks

Our planet is full of incredible rocks. They are made of different minerals and can look very different from each other. Scientists classify rocks based on how they were formed. This helps us understand Earth's history and processes. Let's explore the three main families of rocks!

Igneous rocks

A sample of andesite (dark groundmass) with amygdaloidal vesicles filled with zeolite. Diameter of view is 8 cm.

• Adakite
• Agpaitic rock
• Andesite
• Alkali feldspar granite
• Ankaramite - Igneous rock belonging to basalt family
• Anorthosite
• Aplite
• Basalt
  • ʻAʻā – Basaltic lava with a crumpled appearance
  • Pāhoehoe – Basaltic lava with a flowing, often ropy appearance
• Basaltic andesite
• Basaltic trachyandesite
  • Mugearite
  • Shoshonite
• Basanite
• Blairmorite
• Boninite
• Carbonatite
• Charnockite
  • Enderbite
• Dacite
• Diabase, also known as dolerite
• Diorite
  • Napoleonite, also known as corsite
• Dunite
• Essexite
• Foidolite
• Gabbro
• Granite
• Granodiorite
• Granophyre
• Harzburgite
• Hornblendite
• Hyaloclastite
• Icelandite
• Ignimbrite
• Ijolite
• Kimberlite
• Komatiite
• Lamproite
• Lamprophyre – An ultramafic, ultrapotassic intrusive rock dominated by mafic phenocrysts in a feldspar groundmass
• Latite – A silica-undersaturated form of andesite
• Leucitite
• Lherzolite – An ultramafic rock, essentially a peridotite
• Monzodiorite An intrusive igneous rock intermediate in composition between diorite and monzonite
• Monzogabbro
• Monzogranite – A silica-undersaturated granite with <5% normative quartz
• Monzonite – a plutonic rock with <5% normative quartz
• Nepheline-bearing diorite
• Nepheline syenite – A silica-undersaturated plutonic rock of nepheline and alkali feldspar
• Nephelinite – A silica-undersaturated plutonic rock with >90% nepheline
• Norite – A hypersthene-bearing gabbro
• Obsidian
• Pegmatite
• Peridotite
• Phonolite – A silica-undersaturated volcanic rock; essentially similar to nepheline syenite
• Phonotephrite – A volcanic rock with a composition between phonolite and tephrite
• Picrite – An olivine-bearing basalt
• Porphyry
• Pumice
• Pyroxenite - a coarse grained plutonic rock composed of >90% pyroxene
• Quartz diorite – A diorite with >5% modal quartz
• Quartz monzonite – An intermediate plutonic rock, essentially a monzonite with 5–10% modal quartz
• Quartzolite – An intrusive rock composed mostly of quartz
• Rhyodacite – A felsic volcanic rock which is intermediate between a rhyolite and a dacite
• Rhyolite
  • Comendite
  • Pantellerite
• Scoria
• Shonkinite – a plutonic rock
• Sovite – A coarse-grained carbonatite rock
• Syenite – A plutonic rock dominated by orthoclase feldspar; a type of granitoid
• Syenogranite of the granite family
• Tachylyte – Essentially a basaltic glass
• Tephriphonolite – A volcanic rock with a composition between phonotephrite and phonolite
• Tephrite – A silica-undersaturated volcanic rock
• Tonalite – A plagioclase-dominant granitoid
• Trachyandesite – An alkaline intermediate volcanic rock
  • Benmoreite - sodic trachyandesite
• Trachybasalt – A volcanic rock with a composition between basalt and trachyte
  • Hawaiite – a sodic type of trachybasalt, typically formed by ocean island (hot spot) volcanism
• Trachyte – A silica-undersaturated volcanic rock; essentially a feldspathoid-bearing rhyolite
• Troctolite – A plutonic ultramafic rock containing olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase
• Trondhjemite – A form of tonalite where plagioclase-group feldspar is oligoclase
• Tuff
• Vitrophyre - Glassy igneous rock with phenocrysts
• Websterite – A type of pyroxenite, composed of clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene
• Wehrlite - An ultramafic plutonic or cumulate rock, a type of peridotite, composed of olivine and clinopyroxene

Sedimentary rocks

Bituminous coal seam in West Virginia

Limey shale overlaid by limestone. Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee

Dolomite crystals from Touissite, Morocco

Turbidite (Gorgoglione Flysch), Miocene, South Italy

• Argillite
• Arkose
• Banded iron formation
• Breccia
• Calcarenite
• Chalk
• Chert
• Claystone
• Coal
• Conglomerate
• Coquina
• Diamictite
• Diatomite
• Dolomite (rock), also known as Dolostone
• Evaporite
• Flint
• Geyserite
• Greywacke
• Gritstone
• Ironstone
• Itacolumite
• Jaspillite
• Laterite
• Lignite
• Limestone
• Marl
• Mudstone
• Oil shale
• Oolite
• Phosphorite – A non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals
• Sandstone
• Shale
• Siltstone
• Sylvinite
• Tillite
• Travertine
• Tufa
• Turbidite
• Wackestone

Metamorphic rocks

Phyllite

Banded gneiss with a dike of granite orthogneiss

Marble

Quartzite

Manhattan Schist, from Southeastern New York

Slate

• Anthracite
• Amphibolite
• Blueschist
• Cataclasite – A rock formed by faulting
• Eclogite
• Gneiss
• Granulite
• Greenschist – A mafic metamorphic rock dominated by green amphiboles
• Hornfels
  • Calcflinta – Calc-silicate hornfels
• Jadeitite
• Litchfieldite – Nepheline syenite gneiss
• Marble – a metamorphosed limestone
• Migmatite
• Mylonite – A metamorphic rock formed by shearing
• Metaconglomerate - A type of metamorphic rock formed through the recrystallization of conglomerates
• Metapelite – A metamorphic rock with a protolith of clay-rich (siltstone) sedimentary rock
• Metapsammite – A metamorphic rock with a protolith of quartz-rich (sandstone) sedimentary rock
• Phyllite – A low grade metamorphic rock composed mostly of micaceous minerals
• Pseudotachylite – A glass formed by melting within a fault via friction
• Quartzite – A metamorphosed sandstone typically composed of >95% quartz
• Schist
• Semipelite – that falls between pelitic (clay-rich) and psammitic (sand-rich) compositions
• Serpentinite
• Skarn
• Slate - A low grade metamorphic rock formed from shale or silt
• Suevite – A rock formed by partial melting during a meteorite impact
• Talc carbonate – A metamorphosed ultramafic rock with talc as an essential constituent; similar to a serpentinite
  • Soapstone – Essentially a talc schist
• Tectonite – A rock whose fabric reflects the history of its deformation
• Whiteschist – A high pressure metamorphic rock containing talc and kyanite

Specific varieties

The following are terms for rocks that are not petrographically or genetically distinct but are defined according to various other criteria; most are specific classes of other rocks, or altered versions of existing rocks. Some archaic and vernacular terms for rocks are also included.

• Adamellite – A variety of quartz monzonite
• Appinite – A group of varieties of lamprophyre, mostly rich in hornblende
• Aphanite
• Borolanite – A variety of nepheline syenite from Loch Borralan, Scotland
• Blue Granite
• Epidosite
• Felsite
• Flint
• Ganister
• Gossan
• Hyaloclastite
• Ijolite
• Jadeitite
• Jasperoid – A hematite-silica metasomatite analogous to a skarn
• Kenyte - A variety of phonolite, first found on Mount Kenya
• Lapis lazuli - A rock composed of lazurite and other minerals
• Larvikite
• Listwanite
• Litchfieldite – A metamorphosed nepheline syenite occurrence near Litchfield, Maine
• Llanite – A hypabyssal rhyolite with microcline and blue quartz phenocrysts from the Llano Uplift in Texas
• Luxullianite
• Mangerite
• Minette – A variety of lamprophyre
• Novaculite – A type of chert found in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas
• Pietersite
• Pyrolite – A chemical analogue considered to theoretically represent the Earth's upper mantle
• Rapakivi granite
• Rhomb porphyry – A type of latite with euhedral rhombic phenocrysts of feldspar
• Rodingite – A mafic rock metasomatized by serpentinization fluids
• Shonkinite – melitilic and kalsititic rocks
• Taconite
• Tachylite
• Teschenite – A silica undersaturated, analcime bearing gabbro
• Theralite – A nepheline gabbro
• Unakite – An altered granite
• Variolite
• Vogesite – A variety of lamprophyre
• Wad (mineral) – A rock rich in manganese oxide or manganese hydroxide

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Tipos de rocas para niños

• List of minerals
• Rock cycle – Learn how rocks change from one type to another.