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Rock Cycle
Rock cycle
The original concept of the rock cycle is usually attributed to James Hutton, from the
eighteenth century father of geology. The rock cycle was a part of Hutton's humanitarianism
and his famous quote: “no vestige of a beginning, and no prospect of an end”, applied in
particular to the rock cycle and the envisioned cyclical nature of geologic processes. This
concept of a repetitive non-evolutionary rock cycle remained dominant until the plate
tectonics revolution of the 1960s. With the developing understanding of the driving engine of
plate tectonics, the rock cycle changed from endlessly repetitive to a gradually evolving
process. The Wilson cycle (a plate tectonics based rock cycle) was developed by J. Tuzo
Wilson during the 1950s and 1960s.
The rock cycle is a general model that describes how various geological processes create,
modify, and influence rocks. In Fig. 2.1 the model suggests that the origin of all rocks can be
ultimately traced back to the solidification of molten magma. Magma consists of a partially
melted mixture of elements and compounds commonly found in rocks. Magma exists just
beneath the solid crust of the Earth in an interior zone known as the mantle.
Fig. 2.1: The rock cycle
The original concept of the rock cycle is usually attributed to James Hutton, from the
eighteenth century father of geology. The rock cycle was a part of Hutton's humanitarianism
and his famous quote: “no vestige of a beginning, and no prospect of an end”, applied in
particular to the rock cycle and the envisioned cyclical nature of geologic processes. This
concept of a repetitive non-evolutionary rock cycle remained dominant until the plate
tectonics revolution of the 1960s. With the developing understanding of the driving engine of
plate tectonics, the rock cycle changed from endlessly repetitive to a gradually evolving
Lecture Delivered By: Dr. M. Imran Malik
Rock Cycle
process. The Wilson cycle (a plate tectonics based rock cycle) was developed by J. Tuzo
Wilson during the 1950s and 1960s.
The rock cycle is a general model that describes how various geological processes create,
modify, and influence rocks. In Fig. 2.1 the model suggests that the origin of all rocks can be
ultimately traced back to the solidification of molten magma. Magma consists of a partially
melted mixture of elements and compounds commonly found in rocks. Magma exists just
beneath the solid crust of the Earth in an interior zone known as the mantle.
Fig. 2.1: The rock cycle
Lecture Delivered By: Dr. M. Imran Malik