Petrology facts for kids

The black rocks are "pelite", a metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rock, i.e. mudstone or siltstone

Petrology is the branch of geology. Its main focus is on the composition, texture, structure of rocks and the conditions under which they form.

Branches

There are three branches of petrology, corresponding to the three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary, and another dealing with experimental techniques:

• Igneous petrology focuses on the composition and texture of igneous rocks (rocks such as granite or basalt which have crystallized from molten rock or magma). Igneous rocks include volcanic and plutonic rocks.
• Sedimentary petrology focuses on the composition and texture of sedimentary rocks (rocks such as sandstone, shale, or limestone.
• Metamorphic petrology focuses on the composition and texture of metamorphic rocks (rocks such as slate, marble, gneiss, or schist).
• Experimental petrology employs high-pressure, high-temperature apparatus to investigate the geochemistry and phase relations of natural or synthetic materials at elevated pressures and temperatures.

Images for kids

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  A volcanic sand grain seen under the microscope, with plane-polarized light in the upper picture, and cross-polarized light in the lower picture. Scale box is 0.25 mm.

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  Ljudmila Dolar Mantuani (1906-1988) first female professor of petrography in Yugoslavia.

See also

In Spanish: Petrología para niños