Rocks Are The Start Of Everything Rocks structure physically supports life, and the minerals they are made from provide life's basic nutrients.  Igneous rocks, under the right environmental conditions, can change into sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Volcanoes produce igneous rocks such as granite, pumice, and obsidian.  Igneous rocks contain original minerals that form as magma cools. Sedimentary rocks are formed when older rocks are broken apart by plant roots, ice wedges, and earth movements and become transported by glaciers, waves, currents, and wind. The transported particles then become bound together (cemented) as secondary minerals grow in the spaces between the loose particles and create a new, solid, sedimentary rock. Sandstone, limestone, and shale are types of sedimentary rocks that contain quartz sand, lime, and clay, respectively. Metamorphic/Crystalline rocks form when pressure and temperature, below Earth's surface, are great enough to change the chemical composition of sedimentary and igneous rocks. Metamorphic rocks, such as quartzite, marble, and slate form under intense temperature and pressure but were originally quartz sandstone, limestone, and shale. Other types of parent material that mineral soils form from are called Recent Cover Deposits and include alluvium, colluvium, eolian deposits, glacial deposits, lacustrine (lake) deposits, loess deposits , marine deposits, and volcanic ash deposits. About Minerals A mineral is defined as being a naturally occurring element or compound that is formed by inorganic processes and contains a crystalline structure. Minerals form the basic framework of soil. Minerals originally form when once-heated Earth material magma (molten rock) cools and forms solid igneous rock. During the cooling process of magma, ions (an atom, a group of atoms or compound that is electrically charged when the loss or gain of electrons occurs) become bonded together, due to electrical attraction. The attracted, bonded ions remain fixed in position and produce solid crystalline minerals within igneous rock. The Earth's crust formed and continues to form in this manner. Earth's crust contains a combination of naturally occurring elements, of which eight elements are predominant: oxygen (O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), Sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg). As you can imagine, combinations of these elements along with the other naturally occurring elements that form Earth's crust produce a wide variety of minerals. http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/soilform/parmat.htm       Contact Us   Disclaimer: We recommend to do your own research and study these methods before using. Seek out licensed holistic practitioners, ask those who have experience using survival methods, like survivalists. The information in this web site is presented for the educational and free exchange of ideas and speech in relation to health and wellness only. It is not intended to diagnose any physical or mental condition, or to prescribe or promote any particular product(s). It is not intended as a substitute for the advice and treatment of a licensed professional. In the event that you use the information for your own health or survival, you are prescribing for yourself which is your constitutional right and for which the author of this site assumes no responsibility. The author of this website is not a health practitioner.