They will be stored in room 322 and can be seen using the Geology Department TV cart, or the projectors in rooms 322 or 332. Objectives Rocks have stories to tell about their geologic history. The stories are written in a language of rock chemistry, rock mineralogy, mineral textures, and mineral chemistry. In this course we will study this language in order to read some of the stories contained in the rocks. To do so we will use several theoretical and mechanical devices, including the most basic and powerful of all petrographic tools, the polarizing microscope.
Petrology involves the study of the mineralogy, texture, and formation of rocks.
This course will cover the identification of rocks and minerals in hand specimen, the use of thin sections for mineral and rock identification, the interpretation of rock textures in thin section, and the theory of the petrologic processes that produce the various rocks, minerals, and textures. To this end, we will be looking at a wide variety of igneous and metamorphic rocks in thin section, hand sample, and in the field.