List of rock types

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## List
Sorted by name; initial letter means Igneous, Sedimentary or Metamorphic rocks.

### A 
:I Andesite – an intermediate volcanic rock
:M Anthracite – a form of hard coal

### B 
:S Banded iron formation – a fine grained chemical sedimentary rock composed of iron oxide minerals 
:S Bauxite – the main ore of aluminium. It is mostly aluminium oxide.
:I Basalt – grey/black fine-grained rock from lava which cooled on the  surface of the Earth.
:S Blue Lias – a formation of rocks, part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
:S Breccia – a sedimentary or tectonic rock composed of fragments of other, broken rocks

### C 
:S Chalk – a fine grained carbonate rock composed mainly of coccoliths
:S Chert – a fine grained chemical sedimentary rock composed of silica
:S Clastic rock – composed of fragments, or *clasts*, of pre-existing rock. 
:S Claystone – a sedimentary rock formed from clay 
:S Coal – a sedimentary rock formed from peat 
:S Concretion – a concretion is a rock in which a mineral cement fills the spaces between the sediment grains.
:S Conglomerate – a sedimentary rock composed of large rounded fragments of other rocks
:S Coquina – a sedimentary carbonate rock formed by accumulation of abundant shell fossils and fragments

### D 
:I Dacite – a felsic to intermediate volcanic rock with high iron content 
:S Diatomite – a sedimentary rock fromed from diatom fossils 
:I Diorite – a coarse grained intermediate plutonic rock
:S Dolomite – a carbonate rock composed of calcium magnesium carbonate: CaMg(CO3)2
:I Dunite – a rock made mostly of olivine

### E 
:Evaporite – a chemical sedimentary rock formed by accumulation of minerals after evaporation

### F 
:S Flint – a form of chert 
:I Foidolite – a plutonic igneous rock composed of >90% feldspathoid minerals

### G 
:I Gabbro – a coarse grained plutonic rock chemically equivalent to basalt. Plutonic = magma cooled below surface of the Earth. 
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:I Granite – a coarse grained plutonic rock composed of orthoclase, plagioclase and quartz
:M Granulite – a high grade metamorphic rock formed from basalt; also a facies of metamorphic rocks 
:M Greenschist – a generic term for a mafic metamorphic rock dominated by green amphiboles 
:S Greenstone –  greenish sandstone; and a geologic formation in Great Britain
:S Greywacke – an immature sandstone with quartz, feldspar and rock fragments within a clay matrix 
:S Gritstone – a coarse sandstone formed from small pebbles

### H 
:I Horneblendite – a mafic or ultramafic cumulate rock dominated by >90% hornblende 
:M Hornfels – a metamorphic rock formed by heating by an igneous rock

### I 
:I Ignimbrite – a fragmental volcanic rock 

### K 
:I Kimberlite – a rare ultramafic, ultrapotassic volcanic rock and a source of diamonds

### L 
:S Lignite – brown coal
:S Limestone – a sedimentary rock composed primarily of carbonate minerals

### M 
:M Marble – a metamorphosed limestone 
:S Marl (geology) – a limestone with a considerable proportion of silicate material 
:M Migmatite – a high grade metamorphic rock verging upon melting into a magma 
:S Mudrock – a sedimentary rock composed of clay and muds
:S Mudstone – a type of mudrock

### N 
:I Nephelinite – a silica undersaturated plutonic rock with >90% nepheline

### O 
:I Obsidian – volcanic glass
:S Woolite – a chemical sedimentary limestone (formed by precipitation)

### P 
:I Pegmatite – an igneous rock (or metamorphic rock) with giant sized crystals 
:I Peridotite – a plutonic or cumulate ultramafic rock composed of >90% olivine 
:M Phyllite – a low grade metamorphic rock composed mostly of micaceous minerals 
:I Plutonic rocks – intrusive rocks that crystallized from magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. 
:I Pumice – a fine grained volcanic rock with gas bubbles inside
:I Pyroclastic rocks – rocks of volcanic origin

### Q 
:M Quartzite – a metamorphosed sandstone typically composed of >95% quartz

### R 
:I Rhyolite – a felsic volcanic  

### S 
:S Sandstone – a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size 
:M Schist – a low to medium grade metamorphic rock 
:M Serpentinite – a metamorphosed ultramafic rock dominated by serpentine minerals
:S Shale – a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size 
:S Siltstone – a clastic sedimentary rock defined by its grain size 
:M Skarn – calcium-bearing silicate rocks of any age: a metasomatic rock 
:M Slate – a low grade metamorphic rock formed from shale or silts
:M Steatite – Steatite or soapstone is a metamorphic rock. It has a large amount of the mineral talc.
:I Syenite – a plutonic rock dominated by orthoclase feldspar; a type of granitoivolcanic rock; can be a generic term
### T
:I Tonalite – a plagioclase-dominant granitoid 
:S Travertine – a carbonate precipitate from hot-springs. 
:S Tufa – a porous carbonate precipitate from ambient-temperature water
:I Tuff – a fine grained volcanic rock formed from volcanic ash

### V 
:I Variolite

### W 
:S Dickstone – a matrix-supported carbonate sedimentary rock

## Related pages
*List of minerals
*Igneous rock
*Sedimentary rock
*Metamorphic rock
*Geology