Igneous Rock

Deep, deep down inside the Earth, it was warm and gooey. I was hot, melted rock, sleeping under the ground. Then one day, a big mountain rumbled and shook. Whoosh. I shot up, up, up and out into the bright world. I was fiery red and orange lava, flowing and glowing. It was so exciting. But then, the cool air touched me and I began to get sleepy and slow. I cooled down and became very still and very hard. I turned into a solid stone. I am an Igneous Rock. That’s a fancy name that means ‘fire rock’.

People met me a long, long time ago. In a place called Rome, way back in the year 79 CE, a big volcano went BOOM. People watched the hot lava flow down the mountain. They saw me cool down and turn from a gooey river into a dark, strong stone. They touched me and felt how hard I was. They thought, 'Wow, this rock is super strong.' So they used me to build things. They built long roads so their carts could ride smoothly. They built big, tall buildings that stood up for many years. Some of my rock family are very pretty and sparkly. People still use my sparkly cousins, called granite, inside their homes today.

I'm all around you, even now. Sometimes I am a dark, shiny rock that looks like black glass. That kind of me is called obsidian. Sometimes I am very light, with tiny little air holes inside me. I am so light I can even float on water. That kind of me is called pumice. Every time you see a rock, you can wonder if it is a fire rock like me. I am a little reminder of how powerful and amazing the Earth is, from the hot, gooey middle all the way to you. So next time you are outside, look for a fire rock and think about my amazing journey.