#How to read a ternary diagram full

Medium to high grade metamorphic rocks also have large amounts of feldspar.

calcium plagioclase in gabbro, and sodium plagioclase and orthoclase in granite. With only a few exceptions all igneous rocks have large amounts of feldspar e.g. Pure quartz sandstones form only under great tectonic stability when the land is not high enough for rocks to be exposed to weathering, such as during Wilson Cycle Stage A and Stage I.ДЇeldspars are some of the most abundant minerals in the earth's crust. Usually quartz is mixed with one or more of the remaining three components. Since quartz, for all practical purposes, does not weather into anything else, and will remain after everything else is weathered or sorted out, it is one of the most important of the four components of sedimentary rock composition. You will learn to recognize and identify them as you study the rocks.Д¬OMPONENTS OF SILICICLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK COMPOSITION > Matrix (a catchall for the silt and clay grains that cannot be easily seen by eye).Дescriptions of each category are below. > Lithic fragments (including rock fragments and mineral grains other than quartz) But in most cases rock composition can be defined by four compositional components:

In addition, any incompletely weathered piece of igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock can also be found in a sedimentary rock.ДЄ composition classification could become very complicated if all of these different particles were considered. After all, there are over 6000 known minerals. It might seem that an unlimited variety of particles could end up in a sedimentary rock. Thus, an arkose sandstone is a rock of sand sized particles, with a high percentage of those particles being feldspar.

#How to read a ternary diagram full

But any full rock name must specify both texture and composition.

The basic classification only concerned texture, using the Wentworth size scale. Sedimentary rocks are classified on the basis of the texture (grain size) of the rock, and composition.