2. Halite is common table salt. It forms where brakish (salty) lakes or sea beds dry up. This evaporation of the water causes the salt to precipitate forming the salt crystals. Halite frequently occurs in crystal form. It is usually colorless but can be reddish brown because of iron oxides in the water that it forms in. Halite has perfect cleavage and a hardness of 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. Limestone is the most abundant of the non-clastic sedimentary rocks. Limestone is produced from the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate) and sediment. The main source of limestone is the limy ooze formed in the ocean. The calcium carbonate can be precipitated from ocean water or it can be formed from sea creatures that secrete lime such as algae and coral. Chalk is another type of limestone that is made up of very small single-celled organisms. Chalk is usually white or gray in color. Limestone can easily be dissolved by acids. If you drop vinegar on limestone it will fizz. Put a limestone rock into a plastic jar and cover it with vinegar. Cover the jar and watch the bubbling of the calcium carbonate and also the disintegration of the rock over a few days.

3. Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock that forms from the cementing together of sand sized grains forming a solid rock. Quartz is the most abundant mineral that forms sandstone. Calcium carbonate, silica, or iron has been added to the water that is in contact with the sand grains. These minerals grow crystals in the spaces around the sand grains. As the crystals fill the gaps the individual sand grains are now transformed into a solid rock Chert is a very hard sedimentary rock that is usually found in nodules in limestone. Chert is light gray to dark gray in color. It probably formed from the remains of ancient sea sponges or other ocean animals that have been fossilized. Silica has replaced the tissue forming the sedimentary rock. Flint is a very dark form of chert. It breaks like obsidian with conchoidal fractures making it widely used by ancient people to make arrowheads, spear heads, and knives.

4. Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that contains large (greater then two millimeters in diameter) rounded particles. The space between the pebbles is generally filled with smaller particles and/or a chemical cement that binds the rock together. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Limestone is a rock that is composed primarily of calcium carbonate. It can form organically from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal and fecal debris. It can also form chemically from the precipitation of calcium carbonate from lake or ocean water. Limestone is used in many ways. Some of the most common are: production of cement, crushed stone and acid neutralization. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

5. Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock made up mainly of sand-size (1/16 to 2 millimeter diameter) weathering debris. Environments where large amounts of sand can accumulate include beaches, deserts, flood plains and deltas. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Shale is a clastic sedimentary rock that is made up of clay-size (less then 1/256 millimeter in diameter) weathering debris. It typically breaks into thin flat pieces. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

7. Andesite is a fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase with other minerals such as hornblende, pyroxene and biotite. The specimen shown is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Basalt is a fine-grained, dark-colored extrusive igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene. The specimen shown is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

8. Diorite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock that contains a mixture of feldspar, pyroxene, hornblende and sometimes quartz. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark colored, intrusive igneous rock that contains feldspar, augite and sometimes olivine. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

9. Granite is a coarse-grained, light colored, intrusive igneous rock that contains mainly quartz and feldspar minerals. The specimen above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Obsidian is a dark-colored volcanic glass that forms from the very rapid cooling of molten rock material. It cools so rapidly that crystals do not form. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

10. Pumice is a light-colored vesicular igneous rock. It forms through very rapid solidification of a melt. The vesicular texture is a result of gas trapped in the melt at the time of solidification. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Rhyolite is a light-colored, fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock that typically contains quartz and feldspar minerals. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

12. Amphibolite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that forms through recrystallization under conditions of high viscosity and directed pressure. It is composed primarily of amphibole and plagioclase, usually with very little quartz. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Gneiss is foliated metamorphic rock that has a banded appearance and is made up of granular mineral grains. It typically contains abundant quartz or feldspar minerals. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

13. Hornfels is a fine-grained non- foliated metamorphic rock with no specific composition. It is produced by contact metamorphism. Hornfels is a rock that was "baked" while near a heat source such as a magma chamber, sill or dike. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced from the metamorphism of limestone. It is composed primarily of calcium carbonate. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

14. Phyllite is a foliate metamorphic rock that is made up mainly of very fine-grained mica. The surface of phyllite is typically lustrous and sometimes wrinkled. It is intermediate in grade between slate and schist. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters across). Quartzite is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is produced by the metamorphism of sandstone. It is composed primarily of quartz. The specimen above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.

15. Schist is metamorphic rock with well developed foliation. It often contains significant amounts of mica which allow the rock to split into thin pieces. It is a rock of intermediate metamorphic grade between phyllite and gneiss. The specimen shown above is a "chlorite schist" because it contains a significant amount of chlorite. It is about two inches (five centimeters) across. Slate is a foliated metamorphic rock that is formed through the metamorphism of shale. It is a low grade metamorphic rock that splits into thin pieces. The specimen shown above is about two inches (five centimeters) across.