We found this super strange looking rock in a creek on our property. It’s quite large and very hard. I hate to admit it, but I was stumped. I’m more of a lab rat than a rock hound.

So like any good homeschoolers, we looked it up and found out that our large grey chunk was actually a piece of basalt! Basalt is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock is extruded out of the ground during a lava flow. Our particular chunk hit water right away and that’s why it has all those cools waves through it!

Basalt is actually relatively common as it is under more of the Earth’s surface than any other rock type. That said, it is way more likely for you to find basalt on the ocean floor than when you are digging in the middle of the North American continent.

Fun Fact – Basalt is also the most abundant rock found on the Moon.

Teaching Science At Home

Want to learn more about basalt deposits? Check out the following articles:

Basalt: Igneous Rock – Read more about basalt and its importance from Geology.com.
Basalt and Granite – Find out what GeoMan has to say about the differences between these two types of rock.
Igneous Rocks {Video} – Learn how rocks are formed in this video from Make Me a Genius.

Related Homeschool Science Activities

Keep the learning going with these science activities!

Edible Types of Rock – Check out this post on the different types of rock to learn about sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rock along with an edible science activity.
Rock Collecting – This post from Inspiration Laboratories will help you get your students started on their own rock collection.