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The Rock Cycle Illustrated

Although not specifically fluorescent mineral oriented, these graphics are a great illustration of how our rocks are created. Just add some activators into the cycle and we have fluorescent rocks!

Processes that shape the earth's surface are ongoing, continuously or intermittently. The landscape is a reflection of many cumulative factors that have occurred over geologic time. Tectonic forces (faulting and folding) and volcanism raise the land's surface, whereas the interactions of gravity, air, water, and ice act to modify (weathering) and move (erosion) earth materials, wearing down the landscape. Long term climate changes also influences weathering and erosion processes, and can cause changes in sea level changes. Asteroid impacts, although infrequent in geologic history, have had dramatic impact on the development on the planet and the life it supports.

The rock cycle illustrates the formation, alteration, destruction, and reformation of earth materials, and typically over long periods of geologic time. The rock cycle portrays the collective system of processes, and the resulting products that form, at or below the earth surface.The illustration below illustrates the rock cycle with the common names of rocks, minerals, and sediments associated with each group of earth materials: sediments, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and igneous rocks. On a grand scale, the rock cycle is integral to the processes associated with plate tectonics.

Rock Cycle Illustrated by Phil Stoffer

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Nature’s Rainbows is a non-commercial website for the hobby community.  It is maintained entirely by volunteer hobbyists and contributors.  Our mission is to provide information about UV and luminescence, premium fluorescent mineral photos, and a fluorescent mineral database for the enjoyment of FL mineral collectors around the world.  Information on this web site is covered under a Creative Commons License.


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