Various minerals and a grainy texture were also observed. Because of this, and identification of minerals such as quartz, as observed in figure 6, and orthoclase, in figure 9, this rock was concluded to be the igneous rock, granite. Granite forms when magma under the Earth slowly crystallizes.
Igneous rock forms when there is an “intrusion” of igneous rock into the preexisting rock formed by sediment. The types of bedrock observed in Barrington are granite, quartz monazite, and granodiorite.
There was evidence of chemical weathering such as oxidation, or the accumulation of rust on rocks when iron within the rocks reacts with oxygen, as evident in figure 10. …show more content…
As evident in figure 7, there are minimal “edges” to the rocks. Most, rather, are smoothed over. This type of physical weathering is a result of glacial activity that occurred ten to fifteen thousands of years ago during the Pleiothestine Epoch.
As a one mile thick glacier, the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated Northward over the surface of the rock, it smoothed edges, and created scratches in the rock, as evident in figure 2. A similar type of weathering also occurred on the white mountains. With all of New England being covered by the Laurentide ice sheet, the white mountains have edges that are more smoothed than the