How is igneous rock formed for kids

The stonework in many buildings and statues that you see every day is made from Igneous rocks. In ancient times Diorite was used for making vases that were then decorated. You can still see many of these amazing designs in museums. Granite is used in many modern buildings, and maybe in your kitchen, you have a granite worktop—many sculptures like using granite for making statues.

The lava cooled, and as it did this it split and formed about 40, basalt pillars, which look like humongous stepping stones that reach out into the ocean. Nature and Science. Search Search for: Search. Do you know what igneous rocks are? How is Igneous Rock Formed? What types of Igneous Rocks are there? Igneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock.

Igneous rocks are rocks formed from molten magma. The material is made liquid by the heat inside the Earth's mantle. When magma comes out onto the surface of the Earth, it is called lava. Lava cools down to form rocks such as tuff and basalt. Intrusive rocks are made when the magma slowly cools to form rocks under the surface. Granite is one of these. Igneous rock is formed when magma cools and solidifies, it may do this above or below the Earth's surface. Magma can be forced into rocks, blown out in volcanic explosions or forced to the surface as lava.

These atoms and molecule rearrange themselves into mineral grains as the magma cools, forming rock as the mineral grains grow together. Examples of igneous rocks include basalt, granite, pumice, obsidian, tuff, diorite, gabbro and andesite. The second type of igneous rock, the extrusive igneous rock, is formed when lava cools and forms into solid rock.

This cooling is much faster than the slow cooling that forms intrusive igneous rocks. There are many different types of extrusive igneous rocks. The type of rock you get depends on what kind of lava the rock was formed from and how fast the rock cooled. Related: Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks. Many mountains are made out of igneous rocks.

Also, many mountains with lots of surrounding igneous rock suggest that the mountain could also be a volcano. Basalt, granite, pumice and obsidian are examples of igneous rocks. There are over different types of igneous rocks. Here are just a few.