This is a tour of the rock cycle. While rocks may appear dull and uninteresting at first, the story of how rocks form is a very active and interesting cycle.
This rock is called a igneous rock. When this volcano erupted, magma rose from the earth’s mantle and spilled onto the surface. This magma later cooled and became a rock.
Over time our igneous rock was weathered down into smaller bits called sediment. The sediment was carried away by rain and piled up at the mouth of a river.
The sediment was carried down stream and combined with other sediments in a process called compaction. It was deposited at a beach and became a sedimentary rock.
The rock made its way into the earth’s crust. Through intense heat and pressure. it changed into a metamorphic rock.
The rock melted back down into magma. One day pressure will build up and it a volcano will erupt, releasing the magma.
The magma was released from the surface. It cooled and became an igneous rock, beginning the cycle all over again.