Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Classification of Rocks

  • Living reference work entry
  • Latest version View entry history
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 146 Accesses

Definition

Rocks are naturally formed aggregations of mineral matter. A mineral is a solid, inorganic, crystalline substance with a definite chemical composition and atomic structure (Klein and Hurlbut 1998). Some rocks may also contain non-mineral materials, such as fossils and glass. Rocks are an essential part of the earth’s crust. They remain intact in water and cannot be excavated without blasting (West 2010). Rocks are important for design and stability of engineering structures, and classification of rocks provides an adequate means for predicting and communicating their properties. Several classifications of rocks are available, some based on texture and mineral composition and others on origin.

Introduction

Rocks are the natural building blocks of the earth. Rocks form by crystallization of magma and lava deposition of sediment carried by rivers into a body of water, precipitation of dissolved minerals (calcite, dolomite, salt), and alteration of existing rocks under the...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Klein C, Hurlbut C (1998) Manual of mineralogy (after James D. Dana), 21st edn (revised). Wiley, New York, USA, 681p

    Google Scholar 

  • Raymond LA (2002) Petrology: the study of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. McGraw-Hill, Boston, 720p

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker ME (2001) Sedimentary petrology. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 262p

    Google Scholar 

  • Tugrul A, Zarif IH (1999) Correlation of mineralogical and textural characteristics with engineering properties of selected granitic rocks from Turkey. Eng Geol 51:303–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • West T (2010) Geology applied to engineering. Waveland Press, Illinois, USA, 560p

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter JD (2010) Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology. Prentice Hall, New York, 687p

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, East Tennessee State University, 100 CR Drive, Johnson City, TN, 37614, USA

    Arpita Nandi

Authors
  1. Arpita Nandi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arpita Nandi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Kanata, Ontario, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

  2. London, United Kingdom

    Brian Marker

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Nandi, A. (2017). Classification of Rocks. In: Bobrowsky, P., Marker, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Engineering Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_51-2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_51-2

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12127-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Classification of Rocks
    Published:
    02 February 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_51-2

  2. Original

    Classification of Rocks
    Published:
    01 December 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12127-7_51-1

Search

Navigation