An extremely brief review of rocks and minerals

Appendix 2.1 An extremely brief review of rocks and minerals 

To help understand the discussion on weathering, a veiy brief review of the names and chemical formulae for some of the important rock-forming minerals is presented here. The silicate discussion is mainly from Drever (1982). 

The ultimate source of most cations as weU as the silicate dissolved in rivers and the ocean is igneous rock. Granites are light-colored acidic rocks basalts are dark-colored with high concentrations of metal ions. These rocks originate from deep within the Earth, where at one time they were in a molten state. They are made of minerals like feldspar, mica, and quartz. Feldspars are the pink, green, and white minerals visible in granite  

Micas are the shiny flakes in igneous rocks that catch your eye by reflecting sunlight while you pick your path on a moruitain hike  

Quartz is the glassy looking parts of granitic roclcs  

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