MKD Designs

Origin of Rocks & Minerals

All new solar systems in the Universe are formed out of stardust.   Our system was formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse a giant molecular cloud.  Within fifty million years we had a full-fledged Sun and in another few million years the inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars) had coalesced from swirling clouds of space dust and space rocks. This is quite an amazing accomplishment (and if you've ever tried to coalesce a fistful of rocks into a planetesimal, you know what I'm talkin' about). Our star, the Sun, contains 99% of the mass of our solar system which is comprised of 1 star, 8 planets, 166 moons, 3 dwarf planets, and millions of small solar system bodies (rocks).  Jupiter and Saturn account for more than 90% of the mass of our Solar System sans our star. It is not known why all the inner planets are terrestrial (rock based) and the outer planets are all gassy, but there must be a reason. Maybe it's because it's 3.2 parsecs to the nearest deli (according to Luke Skywalker).

Pick up a rock and you have hold in your hand of a piece of the earth's crust. The rocks that comprise the crust are one of three types: namely; igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic. Igneous rocks were formed by the solidification of cooled magma or exhalations of magma. Igneous rocks are associated with  granite, pumice, quartz, feldspar and basalt.  Sedimentary rocks are formed by overburden pressure on fragmentized rocks, air, water, and biological elements. Sedimentary rocks cover two-thirds of the Earth's surface and include limestone, sandstone. shale, pyrite, calcite, gypsum. Turquoise and opal deposits are also found in sedimentary rocks.   Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been transformed because of exposure to extreme heat and pressure deep within the Earth. Marble, mica, slate, garnet, serpentine, corundum, and soapstone may be associated with metamorphic rocks.

Minerals are normally accumulations of deposits of one or more substances in the rocks of the Earth's crust.  Our most important mineral to life on Earth, however, is water.  This precious resource will become more vital and more scarce and the Earth continues to increase in human population.  The next most important minerals for life on earth are the metals (iron, cooper,  tin, manganese, etc. ). The metallic minerals are the core of life on Earth and the development of our civilization. The nonmetallic minerals (coal, salt, clay, marble, etc,) are also of great importance to the chemical, ceramic and building industries. Gemstones, valued for their beauty and healing properties, are also included in this group of minerals. The nonmetallic minerals comprise the largest group of minerals on Earth.