Email:
rwp@rockwalkpark.com

 

Rock Talk

The rock and mineral samples that you will see in the park have been collected/donated by individuals and industy.  Each speciment is accompanied by a descriptive plaque that identifies they type and origin of the sample. Have a hard time understanding all the "Rock Lingo"? No problem, read on.

Terms

Rocks and Minerals are the very building blocks of the planets. But, the two words are not interchangeable. So what’s the difference?  One way of describing the difference between rocks and minerals is to compare minerals to bricks and rocks to the buildings built from those bricks. In other words, rocks are mixtures or aggregates of minerals. Occasionally, there may be only one mineral present in the ‘mixture’, but it is more common to have many minerals present in a  rock.

Rocks

There are three basic classes of rocks: Igneous - formed from molten lava or magma; Sedimentary - formed by consolidation of weathered rock particles; Metamorphic - formed when other rocks are buried deep within the earths crust and are acted on by heat, pressure and the presence of fluids.

As mentioned above, there are some rocks composed of only one mineral. These are called monomineralic.

Examples include:

  • Dunite (composed of the mineral, olivine)
  • Anorthosite (composed of the mineral, calcium-rich plagioclase)
  • Marble (a metamorphic rock consisting mainly of the mineral, calcite).

Some interesting rocks that are composed of a mixture of minerals.

Examples include:

  • Granite (mineral mix e.g.  quartz, feldspars, muscovite)
  • Kimberlite (mineral mix e.g. Cr-pyrope and eclogite garnet, chrome diopside, Cr-spinel, ilmenite and olivine)
  • Basalt ( mineral mix e.g.  Hornblend, Augite, Biotite)

More in-depth information on rock classification.


Minerals

We all know the names of some minerals but not necessarily what the names mean.
How do we get a handle on this? If you want learn the minerals, identification and classification is important. The identification of minerals is very similar to a detective finding clues with which to solve a mystery. The mystery is the identity of the mineral, and the clues are the physical properties of minerals. These physical properties include specific gravity, hardness, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, colour, lustre, habit, taste, odour, feel, and diaphaneity. With practice, and time, you’ll soon become familiar with the common minerals. For properties and a searchable database go to: mineral info .

Fluorescence

Some of the Rocks displayed at the RockWalk Park have the very interesting property of fluorescing when a ultraviolet light shines on the sample. We do special night tours to show off these spectacular samples. What makes the rocks shine like this? It's all a part of the properties of the rock and how it's minerals react to light. For a detailed explanation go to the Light page.

Want to know more about our collection or more about rocks and minerals?
               Ask the Rock Doc!    

 

Interesting Links

Canadian Geoscience:http://collections.ic.gc.ca/geoscience/nostone_e.html 

Earth Sciences resources - directory of Earth Sciences related websites: http://www.the-science-lab.com/Earth-Sciences/

Gemmology World: http://www.cigem.ca/

Gem Identification:
http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~eps2/wisc/Lect5.html#pleochroism

Mineral Collections: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/mineralogy/collections/index.html

Mineral Descriptions: http://webmineral.com/Alphabetical_Listing.shtml

Mineralogy: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~jrice/geol_311/lect_1.html