1. By: Nikki Frye

2. What is the Rock Cycle?
 The concept of the rock cycle is attributed to
James Hutton (1726—1797), the 18th-century
founder of modern geology.
 The main idea is that rocks are continually
changing from one type to another and back
again, as forces inside the earth bring them
closer to the surface (where they are weathered,
eroded, and compacted) and forces on the earth
sink them back down (where they are heated,
pressed, and melted). So the elements that make
up rocks are never created or destroyed —
instead, they are constantly being recycled.

3. The Rock Cycle is a model that illustrates
the origins of the three basic types of rock &
the processes in which they form.
 Sedimentary
 Metamorphic
 Igneous

4. Sedimentary Rock
 For thousands, even
millions of years, little
pieces of our earth have
been eroded--broken down
and worn away
by wind and water. These
little bits of our earth are
washed downstream
where they settle to the
bottom of the rivers, lakes,
and oceans. Layer after
layer of eroded earth is
deposited on top of each.
These layers are pressed
down more and more
through time, until the
bottom layers slowly turn
into rock.

5. Metamorphic Rock
 Metamorphic rocks are
rocks that have
quot;morphedquot; into another
kind of rock. These
rocks were once
igneous or sedimentary
rocks. How do
sedimentary and
igneous rocks change?
The rocks are under
tons and tons of
pressure, which fosters
heat build up, and this
causes them to change.
If you exam
metamorphic rock
samples closely, you'll
discover how flattened
some of the grains in
the rock are.

6. Igneous Rock
 Igneous rocks are formed
either underground or above
ground. Underground, they
are formed when the melted
rock, called magma, deep
within the earth becomes
trapped in small pockets. As
these pockets of magma cool
slowly underground, the
magma becomes igneous
rocks.
 Igneous rocks are also
formed when volcanoes
erupt, causing the magma to
rise above the earth's surface.
When magma appears above
the earth, it is called lava.
Igneous rocks are formed as
the lava cools above ground.

7. How the Rock Cycle Works
As you can see from
the picture,
sedimentary rocks
are formed from
burial and
sedimentation. These
rocks can then
undergo deep burial
& heating to become
metamorphic rocks.
Metamorphic rocks
can be uplifted to the
surface where they
undergo weathering
to eventually become
sedimentary rocks or
they can melt and the
magma can undergo
crystallization to
become igneous
rock.

8. The Rock Cycle Continues
 Everyday, little pieces of the mountain rock are
worn away by water and wind.
 Those pieces collect somewhere and are
compressed into new sedimentary rocks, which
will continue to change and reenter the cycle as
different metamorphic rocks or as melted material
that can form new igneous rock.
 Then, the process will begin all over again.