ROCK ON!BY WENDY

MASS

Cavern

Definition: (noun) A large cave

There are a lot of caves and really deep caverns

in Virginia.

geologist

Sounds like my little budding geologist might be a chemist instead!

•Definition: (noun) A scientist who studies Earth’s layers of soil and rock

Magma

Then the magma from a volcano deep underground turned it into granite.

Definition: (noun) Melted rock found beneath Earth’s surface

Meteorite

I’ve seen meteorites before. Those are the only rocks that come from space, and they look like tiny chunks of metal.

•Definition: (noun) A remaining part of a meteor that has fallen to Earth

mineral

Any geologist-in-training knows that igneous rocks like granite were forged from molten lava, but I never knew the minerals inside them came from stars!

•Definition: (noun) A substance found in nature that is not an animal or a plant

igneous

Any geologist-in-training knows that igneous rocks like granite were forged from molten lava, but I never knew the minerals inside them came from stars!

•Rock formed through the cooling and solidifying of magma or lava

metamorphic

Before I can tell her that I sort them out by type (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary), and then color, and then size, and then hardness, Vince Higgins sticks his head between us and says in a sing-song voice, “Rock Boy’s got a girlfriend!”

•Definition: (adjective) A rock that changes due to extreme heat or pressure

Sedimentary

Before I can tell her that I sort them out by type (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary), and then color, and then size, and then hardness, Vince Higgins sticks his head between us and says in a sing-song voice, “Rock Boy’s got a girlfriend!”

•Definition: (adjective) Rock formed by depositing of sedimentation on Earth and within the waters

geode

Definition: (noun) A round rock that contains a hollow cavity filled with crystals

We’re hunting for geodes in the valley on the other side of this fence.