Welcome to Quarryville

Earth materials are naturally formed materials found beneath the surface of the earth. These materials can be grouped as:

• Liquids (water, oil, mercury, magma)
• Gases (methane, found beneath the North Sea, CO₂ and SO₂ found in volcanoes, etc)
• Solids (rocks, sediment, soil)

As you can see rocks are part of the third group.

There are hundreds of different types of rock. Most people think of all rocks as being very hard and perhaps big as well. But softer, smaller materials such as sand, gravel, clay and peat are also rocks.

OK, most rocks are hard and stiff, but some are bendy. There’s even an unusual type of Indian sandstone that can be bent by hand.

Limestone is a fairly hard rock made from calcium carbonate

Granite is a very hard rock

Sandstone can be hard as granite or a soft rock – you can scratch soft sandstone with your nails

Chalk is a soft rock made from calcium carbonate – you can easily rub bits off

Marble is a rock made from calcium carbonate crystals – you can smooth and polish it

Slate is a hard rock made of layers – it splits easily into sheets