geologic cycle

Also known as: crustal cycle, rock cycle

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July 22, 2026

Quick Summary

The rock cycle describes the relationships between igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. This process is driven by temperature, pressure, time, and environmental changes within the Earth's crust and on its surface.12

The geochemical cycle tracks elements through Earth's crust and surface. It begins with magma crystallization, followed by weathering and erosion of igneous rocks into sediment. This sediment can then become lithified into sedimentary rock, which may eventually be metamorphosed. Melting can generate new magma, restarting the cycle, though it can be interrupted at any stage.3

Plate tectonics, a theory developed in the 1960s, explains the movement of Earth's lithosphere. This movement influences mountain building, volcanic activity, and earthquakes, shaping the planet's surface over geologic time. The geomorphic cycle, a related theory, posits that landforms evolve through stages of youth, maturity, and old age, though modern understanding emphasizes a dynamic equilibrium between landforms and the processes acting upon them.45

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geology
…rocks, thereby completing a full cycle of the transfer of matter from an old continent to a young ocean and ultimately to the formation of new sedimentary rocks. Knowledge of the processes of interaction of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere with the surface rocks and soils of the Earth’s crust…
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…rocks, thereby completing a full cycle of the transfer of matter from an old continent to a young ocean and ultimately to the formation of new sedimentary rocks. Knowledge of the processes of interaction of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere with the surface rocks and soils of the Earth’s crust…
Read More

rock
Rock cycle
Geologic materials—mineral crystals and their host rock types—are cycled through various forms. The process depends on temperature, pressure, time, and changes in environmental conditions in the Earth’s crust and at its surface. The rock cycle illustrated in Figure 1 reflects the basic relationships…
Read More
Geologic materials—mineral crystals and their host rock types—are cycled through various forms. The process depends on temperature, pressure, time, and changes in environmental conditions in the Earth’s crust and at its surface. The rock cycle illustrated in Figure 1 reflects the basic relationships…
Read More

geochronology
James Hutton’s recognition of the geologic cycle
In the late 1780s the Scottish scientist James Hutton launched an attack on much of the geologic dogma that had its basis in either Werner’s Neptunist approach or its corollary that the prevailing configuration of the Earth’s surface is largely the result of…
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In the late 1780s the Scottish scientist James Hutton launched an attack on much of the geologic dogma that had its basis in either Werner’s Neptunist approach or its corollary that the prevailing configuration of the Earth’s surface is largely the result of…
Read More