A super-chilled igneous rock, black in colour and glassy in appearance. Fractures conchoidally. Often formed due to contact with cold seawater as the silicate minerals cool almost immediately, restricting mineral growth. Can also be called volcanic glass.

A spherical grain of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite. See the Ooid Formation tutorial for more details of their formation and origin.

The second period of the Palaeozoic. Spans 510-443. The Ordovician is famous for its graptolite and trilobite-rich deposits, particularly in the UK. The Ordovician ended in a mass extinction, probably caused by an Ice Age.