Rocks in Hand Specimen - Index

Look in the catalogue below for photographs of teaching specimens of typical rock types. Use the links to jump to the required section:

[ Sedimentary ]

[ Igneous ]

[ Metamorphic ]

Sedimentary Rocks

Quartz sandstone

Feldspathic sandstone

Cross-bedded sandstone

Shelly mudstone

Black shale with graptolite fossils

Oolitic limestone

Fossiliferous limestone

Chalk

Flint nodule from chalk

Conglomerate

Igneous Rocks

Granite (porphyritic)

Granite

Gabbro

Peridotite

Andesite (porphyritic)

Basalt, amygdaloidal

Basalt, with xenoliths

Obsidian

Pumice

Welded tuff
(volcanic ash)

Metamorphic Rocks

Slate

Schist, folded

Garnet-mica schist

Biotite schist

Biotite gneiss

Granitic gneiss

Marble with serpentine

Marble with ruby

D.J. Waters, Department of Earth Sciences, June 2002