Science
Rock cycle.
Definition
The rock cycle is the continuous process by which rocks are transformed between three types — igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic — through processes like melting, cooling, weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, cementation, and heat/pressure.
How it works · 5 phases
Step by step.
- Magma cools and crystallizes to form igneous rock (either intrusive or extrusive).
- Weathering and erosion break igneous (or any) rock into sediments.
- Sediments are transported, deposited, compacted, and cemented into sedimentary rock.
- Heat and pressure deep underground transform existing rock into metamorphic rock.
- Metamorphic rock can melt back into magma, restarting the cycle, or be uplifted and weathered.
Examples
Real-world.
- 1 Granite (igneous) weathering into sand that becomes sandstone (sedimentary)
- 2 Limestone transformed into marble under heat and pressure (metamorphic)
- 3 Volcanic lava cooling to form basalt (igneous)