Texture & Genesis of Rocks

Christopher DiLeonardo, Ph.D.

Marek Cichanski, Ph.D.
Earth & Space Sciences
De Anza College

he familiar groupings of rocks into igneous, sedimentary, and

metamorphic, denotes different modes of origin for each.
Distinguishing between these groups of rocks is a genetic classification
and is the first step towards a more specific identification of an
individual rock sample. The specific name given to a rock details a specific
history and thus is a shorthand way to express the processes by which
individual rocks form. The value of the identification of a specific rock
sample is in the recognition of that history and the earth processes it
represents.
Photomicrograph of thin section of basalt.
A thin section is a slice of rock 30 microns thick,
mounted to a glass slide. This slice of rock is so thin that
it allows light to pass through. The photomicrograph is of
a basalt, photographed with crossed-polarized light.
Cross polarization allows the minerals within the rock to
be easily distinguished. Microscopy is an important tool
for geologists studying the minerals, textures and fabrics
within rocks of the Earths crust. Photo courtesy of the
U.S. Geological Survey.

Much of the history preserved in rocks is recorded within its texture. The texture of a rock
describes the relationship between the materials from which is composed. The broadest textural
distinctions include crystalline- an intergrowth of crystals by some chemical process; and
fragmental- an accumulation of fragments by some physical process. In some cases a rock can
be composed of an amorphous solid (glass) from a quick chilling of magma. This texture would
be referred to as glassy. You will not see any individual constituents in a rock with glassy
texture. This would also be true for a rock with an aphanitic texture, where the components of
the rock are too small to be seen without magnification.
Objectives
By completing this exercise you will be able to
Distinguish between fragmental and crystalline textures within rocks.
Recognize the common forms of fragmental and crystalline textures within rocks including phaneritic,
porphyritic, foliated, pyroclastic, clastic, and bioclastic.
Recognize glassy and aphanitic textures in rocks.
Relate a rocks texture to its mode of origin and rock genesis.
2010 C. G. DiLeonardo

Materials: Set of common rocks, hand lens.

Rock Textures
Review the sections on texture in previous exercises, any class notes, and text
references List the rocks within the set of samples given you by your lab instructor
next to the appropriate textural group. An individual sample may only be placed on
one line, but any textural group may have more than one sample listed.

Rock Samples and Associated Textures

List samples by number.

Crystalline

Fragmental

Glassy:

____________________________________

Aphanitic:

____________________________________

Phaneritic:

____________________________________

Foliated:

____________________________________

Porphyritic:

____________________________________

Clastic:

____________________________________

Bioclastic:

____________________________________

Pyroclastic:

____________________________________

Introductory Geology Laboratory

Rock Textures & Genesis 2

Rock Textures and Modes of Origin

On the Rock Textures and Modes of Origin chart, make a sketch of the texture that you see in
each thin section of rock. Make sure that you tie the sketch to the proper texture on the chart.
For each texture also mark what modes of origin might have formed such a texture in rock.
Please note that in some cases multiple modes of origin can produce the same textures and in
other cases a texture could be diagnostic of a single mode of origin.
IGNEOUS Volcanic

Rocks formed from the rapid cooling of lava at the Earths surface. May also include the
accumulation of fragments of volcanic material resulting from volcanic eruptions.

IGNEOUS Plutonic

Rocks formed from the slow cooling of magma within the crust and lithosphere of the
Earth.

SEDIMENTARY

Rocks formed from the accumulation of sediments at the Earths surface and liththified
over time.

METAMORPHIC

Rocks formed from the solid-state recrystallization of pre-existing rocks under extreme
changes in temperature and pressure.

About the Earth Discovery Project

The Earth Discovery Project is a collaborative effort to integrate hands-on discovery-based
learning with modern research tools in undergraduate geoscience education. The approach is to
develop and disseminate a comprehensive set of learning resources and experiences supporting
systemic educational reform. The logo of the Earth Discovery Project portrays the earth as a threedimensional puzzle. The globe used in the logo is from NASAs Blue Marble Project. The Blue
Marble is a unique view of the earth, which integrates numerous data sets to construct a truecolor three-dimensional globe.

Introductory Geology Laboratory

Rock Textures & Genesis 3

Visible Constituents

amorphous not made of

crystals or fragments

Glassy

components too small

too see with the naked eye

Aphanitic

fragments of shells or
other organic material

Bioclastic

fragments of rock and/or

minerals

Clastic

volcanic fragments

Pyroclastic

crystals grown in planar

allignment

Foliated

large crystals in
a fine-grained groundmass

Porphyritic

large intergrown crystals

Phaneritic

Texture
Volcanic

Plutonic

IGNEOUS
SEDIMENTARY METAMORPHIC

MODE OF ORIGIN

Rock Textures & Modes of Origin

No Visible
Constiuents

Crystalline Fragmental
Sample #

Sample #

Sample #

Sample #