Maine is known for its rocky shores.
Mud compressed on the ocean floor 400 millions years ago has been transformed into the many rocks found in the state of Maine. These include granite, limestone quartz and marble. The state is an example of different rocks created by varied scientific processes. Some rocks are sedimentary. Others are igneous and metamorphic.
Rockport and Rockland
Sedimentary rocks comprise most of the rocks on Earth. They are created from deposits of mud, sand and sediment. In Maine, sedimentary rocks take many forms. Limestone is an example found in MidCoast in Rockport and Rockland. Shale, mudstone, siltstone, various sandstones, arkose, graywacke, chert and conglomerate are more sedimentary rocks found in Maine.
Camden Hills and Acadia
Igneous rock is also known as a "fire rock." It is the original rock of the Earth made by magma, trapped and cooled deep within the Earth. In Maine, igneous rock includes granite, pegmatite, quartz, monzonite, syenite, diorite, diabase and gabbro. These rocks are especially prevalent in the Camden Hills of Maine and the northern part of the state known as Acadia.
Penobscot Bay
Volcanic igneous rocks form on the surface of the Earth rather than within the magma as it cools. Mark Island and Penobscot Bay possess large amounts of basalt, typically found around bodies of water, such as Maine's Mohegan Island. Some other rocks in the wet parts of Maine include esite, dacite, rhyolite, tuffs and breccias.
Oxford County
In Maine, there are various kinds of metamorphic rock scattered throughout the landscape. Slate is typically found in Monson, Maine. In the early 20th century it was mined in this location, though the amount of slate has dwindled today. Phyllite, schist, granofels, marble, quartzite, greenstone, amphibolite, serpentinite and hornfels are other rocks dispersed throughout the area. Mount mica mine in Oxford County Maine is a repository for many forms of quartz.
Tags: Camden Hills, County Maine, many forms, other rocks, Oxford County, Oxford County Maine
