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The Rock Cycle: The Formation Of The Glasshouse Mountains

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Emilie Tixeront explains the rock cycle, the formation of the Glasshouse Mountains, and what makes rocks so special anyway. Despite a family history of geophysicists and rock enthusiasts, I’ve never found the subject of rocks particularly fascinating. However, an exploration of Earth Science has lead me to the discovery that rocks are actually hidden gems (often literally), and that there’s more to the topic than one would think. The Rock Cycle The Cycle of Life (Like the circle of life, but without the lions) The rock cycle is a sequence of changes that occur in a continuous cycle, repeating over the course of millions of years as different types of rocks morph into each other (ETE Team, 2005). Simple, right? So, to break it down (sedimentary style), there are three basic rock types: Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary (Pellant, 2000). Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock hardens and cools to form a …show more content…

Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock that consists of rock fragments, many of which are visible to the naked eye (Fig. e The rock cycle states that sedimentary rocks are formed through the compression of sediment, and conglomerate contains minerals and rock that have been compressed, providing visual evidence of the rock cycle (Rocksandminerals.com, 2013). Of course, the rock cycle is also linked with the concept of erosion, as the breaking down of material is very important to the cycle (Hamilton & Hamilton, 2008). A prime example of this occurrence can be found at the site of the Glasshouse Mountains in Australia. The Glasshouse Mountains are volcanic plugs that were originally surrounded by sandstone (MSCR, 2012). The plugs are formed of material that is more resistant to erosion than the sandstone that once surrounded it, and the plugs were revealed when the softer rock eroded away (Tourism Australia, 2015). The weathering of the sandstone is evidence to support the existence of

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