Rock Cycle Diagram Maker
Draw labeled rock cycle diagrams that link igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock through magma and sediment, each arrow named for its process, as a simple drawing, flow chart or poster. Made for earth science classes.
Rock cycle diagram examples
Four rock cycle diagrams: a fully labeled cycle, a simple version, a landscape cross-section with a volcano and a blank worksheet. Each is a real render of the prompt shown; click one to load that prompt and edit it.
Labeled rock cycle diagram: follow one rock around the loop
Start at the magma and read the arrows clockwise.
- 1
Magma → igneous rock
Cooling and crystallization: slowly underground gives coarse granite, quickly at the surface gives fine basalt.
- 2
Igneous rock → sediments
Weathering breaks the rock down and erosion carries the pieces away.
- 3
Sediments → sedimentary rock
Buried layers are squeezed and glued together — compaction and cementation.
- 4
Heat and pressure → metamorphic rock
Either rock recrystallizes without melting; once it does melt, it is magma again.
Rock cycle diagrams, from a simple loop to a full chart
How much a rock cycle diagram shows depends on who it is for. Say which of these you want.
Simple rock cycle diagram
Three rock types and five arrows: melting, cooling, weathering and erosion, compaction and cementation, heat and pressure. This is the version for a first earth science unit — ask for “three rocks and five process labels”.
Rock cycle with every process
Magma and sediments drawn as their own stages, uplift added, weathering, erosion and deposition on separate arrows, and the shortcuts — igneous rock straight to metamorphic, metamorphic rock back to sediment. For exam revision and geology courses.
Rock cycle flow chart
Boxes and arrows with no rock pictures, the steps listed in order. It photocopies cleanly and fits in a notebook margin.
How one rock type forms
A single branch enlarged: igneous rock with intrusive and extrusive cooling, sedimentary rock from weathering through deposition to cementation, or metamorphic rock by contact and regional metamorphism.
Rock cycle poster
The loop with a named example at each stop — granite and basalt, sandstone and limestone, slate, marble and gneiss — sized for a classroom wall. Ask for a portrait or landscape poster and list the examples you teach.
Processes of the rock cycle and what each one does
The processes a labeled rock cycle diagram is normally expected to name on its arrows, what each one does, and what it produces. This is the default label set unless you ask for a shorter one.
| Process | What happens | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Melting | Rock deep in the crust or upper mantle is heated until it partly or fully melts | Magma |
| Cooling and crystallization | Magma loses heat and its minerals crystallize — slowly underground, quickly at the surface | Intrusive or extrusive igneous rock |
| Uplift | Mountain building raises buried rock, and erosion strips away the rock above it | Rock exposed at the surface |
| Weathering | Rock is broken apart physically or altered chemically by water, air and living things | Rock and mineral fragments, and dissolved ions |
| Erosion and transport | Water, ice, wind and gravity carry the weathered material away | Moving sediment |
| Deposition | Sediment settles out in rivers, lakes, deserts and the ocean | Layers of sediment |
| Compaction and cementation | Buried sediment is squeezed, and minerals growing in the pores glue the grains together (lithification) | Sedimentary rock |
| Heat and pressure | Buried rock changes in the solid state — new minerals grow and grains may line up — without melting (metamorphism) | Metamorphic rock |
Courses differ in how finely they split the arrows. Introductory worksheets often use three — melting, weathering and erosion, heat and pressure; earth science courses separate deposition, compaction and cementation, uplift, and intrusive from extrusive rock. Name the labels you need and only those are drawn.
What is a rock cycle diagram?
A rock cycle diagram shows how igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock turn into one another. Arrows name each process: melting, cooling and crystallization, weathering and erosion, deposition, compaction and cementation, and heat and pressure.
Key facts
- There are three rock types. Igneous rock forms from magma, sedimentary rock from fragments of other rocks or from minerals precipitated out of solution, and metamorphic rock from existing rock altered by heat, pressure or chemical action.
- Two energy sources drive the cycle. Earth's internal heat moves material through the mantle and crust; the water cycle, powered by the Sun, moves water, ice and air across the surface.
- Where magma cools sets the rock's texture. Magma that cools slowly underground, over centuries to millions of years, forms intrusive igneous rock such as granite; lava that cools at the surface within seconds to years forms extrusive rock such as basalt.
- Sediment becomes rock by lithification. Buried sediment is compacted, squeezing out water and air, then cemented by minerals such as calcite, quartz and hematite crystallizing in the pores between the grains.
- The loop is not one-way. Any rock type can become any other: sedimentary rock can be uplifted and eroded again, and igneous rock can be buried and metamorphosed without passing through the other stages.
Igneous vs sedimentary vs metamorphic rock: what is the difference?
Igneous rock crystallizes from molten magma or lava, sedimentary rock forms from sediment compacted and cemented at or near the surface, and metamorphic rock forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure without melting. How a rock formed shows in its texture: interlocking crystals, grains in layers, or aligned minerals.
| Igneous | Sedimentary | Metamorphic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it forms | Magma or lava cools and crystallizes | Sediment is deposited, compacted and cemented | Existing rock is altered by heat, pressure and fluids |
| Where it forms | Underground (intrusive) or at the surface (extrusive) | At or near the surface, in rivers, lakes, deserts and seas | Deep in the crust, beneath mountain ranges or beside magma bodies |
| Typical texture | Interlocking crystals — coarse if cooled slowly, fine if cooled fast | Grains or fragments, often in layers | Aligned minerals (foliated) or recrystallized grains (non-foliated) |
| Fossils | None | Common | Rare, usually destroyed |
| Examples | Granite, basalt, obsidian | Sandstone, shale, limestone | Slate, schist, gneiss, marble, quartzite |
| Next step in the cycle | Weathering, or burial and metamorphism | Burial and metamorphism, or uplift and erosion | Melting into magma, or uplift and erosion |
Draw the three rock types around the loop with magma and sediment between them, then add the shortcuts: igneous rock weathered straight into sediment, sedimentary rock metamorphosed without melting, metamorphic rock uplifted and eroded. A cycle with only one-way arrows hides the point that any rock can become any other.
Common questions about rock cycle diagrams
What should a labeled rock cycle diagram include?
The standard set is the three rock types — igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic — plus magma and sediment, joined by arrows labeled melting, cooling and crystallization, weathering and erosion, transport and deposition, compaction and cementation, heat and pressure, and uplift. That is the default — ask for fewer labels and only those are drawn.
What are the steps of the rock cycle?
Starting from magma: cooling and crystallization into igneous rock, uplift, weathering and erosion into sediment, deposition, compaction and cementation into sedimentary rock, burial under heat and pressure into metamorphic rock, and melting back into magma. Rock does not have to take every step in that order: igneous rock can be metamorphosed without ever becoming sediment, and metamorphic rock can be uplifted and eroded without melting.
What drives the rock cycle?
Two energy sources: Earth's internal heat and the Sun. Internal heat drives mantle convection and plate tectonics, which melt, bury, squeeze and uplift rock; the Sun powers the water cycle and the winds that weather rock at the surface and carry sediment away. On the Moon, with no mantle convection, atmosphere or liquid water, the rock cycle has all but stopped.
How does a sedimentary rock become a metamorphic rock?
It is buried deeper in the crust, where rising heat and pressure change it without melting it. New minerals grow, and under directed pressure they line up into layers called foliation: shale becomes slate, then schist, then gneiss. Limestone becomes marble and sandstone becomes quartzite.
Does rock have to melt to become metamorphic?
No — metamorphism happens in the solid state. Rock hot enough to melt becomes magma, and when magma cools the result is igneous rock, not metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rock records conditions just short of melting.
What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rock?
Intrusive igneous rock cools slowly underground, so its crystals grow large enough to see; extrusive igneous rock cools quickly at the surface, so its crystals are tiny or absent. Granite is the classic intrusive rock, basalt and obsidian the classic extrusive ones.
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering breaks rock down where it sits; erosion carries the pieces away. Weathering is physical (frost wedging, for example) or chemical (minerals dissolving or altering); erosion is done by water, ice, wind and gravity, which then deposit the sediment somewhere else.
How long does the rock cycle take?
Usually tens to hundreds of millions of years for a full loop. One open geology textbook puts a conservative estimate of about 20 million years on each major step — burial, metamorphism, uplift, erosion — though some steps are far faster: lava can harden into rock within seconds.
Can I make a simple rock cycle drawing for younger students?
Yes — ask for a simple overview and the diagram drops to the essentials: the three rock types in one loop with an arrow between each pair. Five labels or fewer usually covers a middle-school class.
How does the tool keep the rock cycle arrows in the right order?
The subject brief is built in. Every render is instructed to follow the standard textbook drawing — each stage in its true order around a closed loop, joined by arrows that name the process — with each label spelled exactly. Check the labels against your course before printing; the canvas lets you correct any in place.
Can I use a rock cycle diagram from here in a worksheet or a field handout?
Yes — the rock cycle diagrams you generate are yours to use in earth science worksheets, field-trip handouts, slides and theses. Export goes up to 4K depending on the model, enough for a full-page printout.
Can I rename the processes or translate the rock cycle labels afterwards?
Yes. The canvas recognizes each label, so you can change 'cooling and crystallization' to 'solidification', translate the whole set, move an arrow's label or recolor the three rock types without regenerating the figure.
Sources
- The Rock Cycle — Physical Geology (Earle), section 3.1 — LibreTexts / BCcampus
- Clastic Sedimentary Rocks — Physical Geology (Earle), section 6.1 — LibreTexts / BCcampus
- Classification of Metamorphic Rocks — Physical Geology (Earle), section 7.2 — LibreTexts / BCcampus
Keep exploring
Our other diagram tools, and the guides behind them.
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