kzetanyag

Kőzetanyag (ASCII: kozetanyag) is a geological term used in petrology to refer to the material that makes up a rock. The term describes the mineralogical and textural components of rocks and is often used to distinguish the constituents of rocks from their larger structural context.

Composition: The rock material comprises mineral grains such as quartz, feldspar, micas, and other minerals, as well as lithic fragments, glass, and the cementing matrix in sedimentary rocks. In clastic sedimentary rocks, the rock material includes both the framework grains and the matrix; in igneous rocks, it describes the aggregate minerals that crystallized from a melt; in metamorphic rocks, it reflects the recrystallized minerals formed under metamorphic conditions.

Classification and properties: The constitutive rock material determines key properties such as mineralogy, texture, grain size, porosity, and permeability. Rocks are commonly described as felsic, intermediate, mafic, or ultramafic based on their rock material composition. In sedimentary petrology, the proportions of framework grains versus matrix influence rock classification (clastic vs chemical/biochemical). In metamorphic petrology, the mineral assemblage defines metamorphic grade.

Origin and usage: The concept is used to analyze provenance, weathering, transport, sedimentation, diagenesis, and metamorphism. It helps relate a rock to its source materials and geological history.

Note: In Hungarian, kőzetanyag is the standard term; in ASCII texts it is written kozetanyag.