Igneous rock

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Geologic provinces of the world (USGS) Shield Platform Orogen Basin Large igneous province Extended crust Oceanic crust: 020 Ma 2065 Ma >65 Ma

Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word igneus meaning of fire, from ignis meaning fire) is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. This magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Over 700 types of igneous rocks have been described, most of them having formed beneath the surface of Earth's crust. These have diverse properties, depending on their composition and how they were formed.

Contents
[hide]

1 Geological significance 2 Morphology and setting

o o o o o o o o o o o

2.1 Intrusive igneous rocks 2.2 Extrusive igneous rocks 2.3 Hypabyssal igneous rocks 3 Classification 3.1 Texture 3.2 Chemical classification 3.3 History of classification 4 Mineralogical classification 4.1 Example of classification 5 Magma origination 5.1 Decompression 5.2 Effects of water and carbon dioxide 5.3 Temperature increase 5.4 Magma evolution 6 Etymology 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links

[edit]Geological

significance

The upper 16 kilometres (10 mi) of Earth's crust is composed of approximately 95% igneous rocks with only a thin, widespread covering of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.[1] Igneous rocks are geologically important because:

their minerals and global chemistry give information about the composition of the mantle, from which

some igneous rocks are extracted, and the temperature and pressure conditions that allowed this extraction, and/or of other pre-existing rock that melted;

their absolute ages can be obtained from various forms of radiometric dating and thus can be

compared to adjacent geological strata, allowing a time sequence of events;

their features are usually characteristic of a specific tectonic environment, allowing tectonic

reconstitutions (see plate tectonics);

in some special circumstances they host important mineral deposits (ores): for example, tungsten, tin,

and uranium are commonly associated with granites and diorites, whereas ores of chromium and platinum are commonly associated with gabbros.

[edit]Morphology
or hypabyssal.

and setting

In terms of modes of occurrence, igneous rocks can be either intrusive (plutonic), extrusive (volcanic)

[edit]Intrusive

igneous rocks

Close-up of granite (an intrusive igneous rock) exposed in Chennai, India.

Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of a planet. Surrounded by pre-existing rock (calledcountry rock), the magma cools slowly, and as a result these rocks are coarse grained. The mineral grains in such rocks can generally be identified with the naked eye. Intrusive rocks can also be classified according to the shape and size of the intrusive body and its relation to the other formations into which it intrudes. Typical intrusive formations are batholiths, stocks, laccoliths, sills and dikes. The central cores of major mountain ranges consist of intrusive igneous rocks, usually granite. When exposed by erosion, these cores (calledbatholiths) may occupy huge areas of the Earth's surface. Coarse grained intrusive igneous rocks which form at depth within the crust are termed as abyssal; intrusive igneous rocks which form near the surface are termed hypabyssal.

[edit]Extrusive

igneous rocks

Basalt (an extrusive igneous rock in this case); light coloured tracks show the direction of lava flow.
Extrusive igneous rocks are formed at the crust's surface as a result of the partial melting of rocks within the mantle and crust. Extrusive Igneous rocks cool and solidify quicker than intrusive igneous rocks. Since the rocks cool very quickly they are fine grained. The melted rock, with or without suspended crystals and gas bubbles, is called magma. Magma rises because it is less dense than the rock from which it was created. When it reaches the surface, magma extruded onto the surface either beneath water or air, is called lava. Eruptions of volcanoes into air are termed subaerial whereas those occurring underneath the ocean are termed submarine. Black smokers and mid-ocean ridge basalt are examples of submarine volcanic activity. The volume of extrusive rock erupted annually by volcanoes varies with plate tectonic setting. Extrusive rock is produced in the following proportions:[2]

divergent boundary: 73% convergent boundary (subduction zone): 15% hotspot: 12%.

Magma which erupts from a wang behaves according to its viscosity, determined by temperature, composition, and crystal content. High-temperature magma, most of which is basaltic in composition, behaves in a manner similar to thick oil and, as it cools, treacle. Long, thin basalt flows with pahoehoe surfaces are common. Intermediate composition magma such as andesite tends to form cinder cones of intermingled ash, tuff and lava, and may have viscosity similar to thick, cold molasses or even rubber when erupted. Felsic magma such as rhyolite is usually erupted at low temperature and is up to 10,000 times as viscous as basalt. Volcanoes with rhyolitic magma commonly erupt explosively, and rhyolitic lava flows typically are of limited extent and have steep margins, because the magma is so viscous.

Felsic and intermediate magmas that erupt often do so violently, with explosions driven by release of dissolved gases typically water but also carbon dioxide. Explosively eruptedpyroclastic material is called tephra and includes tuff, agglomerate and ignimbrite. Fine volcanic ash is also erupted and forms ash tuff deposits which can often cover vast areas. Because lava cools and crystallizes rapidly, it is fine grained. If the cooling has been so rapid as to prevent the formation of even small crystals after extrusion, the resulting rock may be mostly glass (such as the rock obsidian). If the cooling of the lava happened slowly, the rocks would be coarse-grained. Because the minerals are mostly fine-grained, it is much more difficult to distinguish between the different types of extrusive igneous rocks than between different types of intrusive igneous rocks. Generally, the mineral constituents of fine-grained extrusive igneous rocks can only be determined by examination of thin sections of the rock under a microscope, so only an approximate classification can usually be made in the field.

[edit]Hypabyssal

igneous rocks

Hypabyssal igneous rocks are formed at a depth in between the plutonic and volcanic rocks. Hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic rocks and do often form dikes,sills or laccoliths.

[edit]Classification
Igneous rocks are classified according to mode of occurrence, texture, mineralogy, chemical composition, and the geometry of the igneous body. The classification of the many types of different igneous rocks can provide us with important information about the conditions under which they formed. Two important variables used for the classification of igneous rocks are particle size, which largely depends upon the cooling history, and the mineral composition of the rock. Feldspars, quartz or feldspathoids, olivines,pyroxenes, amphiboles, and micas are all important minerals in the formation of almost all igneous rocks, and they are basic to the classification of these rocks. All other minerals present are regarded as nonessential in almost all igneous rocks and are called accessory minerals. Types of igneous rocks with other essential minerals are very rare, and these rare rocks include those with essential carbonates. In a simplified classification, igneous rock types are separated on the basis of the type of feldspar present, the presence or absence of quartz, and in rocks with no feldspar or quartz, the type of iron or magnesium minerals present. Rocks containing quartz (silica in composition) are silica-oversaturated. Rocks with feldspathoids are silica-undersaturated, because feldspathoids cannot coexist in a stable association with quartz.

Igneous rocks which have crystals large enough to be seen by the naked eye are called phaneritic; those with crystals too small to be seen are called aphanitic. Generally speaking, phaneritic implies an intrusive origin; aphanitic an extrusive one. An igneous rock with larger, clearly discernible crystals embedded in a finer-grained matrix is termed porphyry. Porphyritic texture develops when some of the crystals grow to considerable size before the main mass of the magma crystallizes as finer-grained, uniform material. We will classify igneous rocks on the basis of texture and composition. Texture refers to the size, shape and arrangement of the mineral grains or crystals of which the rock is composed.

[edit]Texture

Gabbro specimen showing phaneritictexture; Rock Creek Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada, California; scale bar is 2.0 cm.
Main article: Rock microstructure Texture is an important criterion for the naming of volcanic rocks. The texture of volcanic rocks, including the size, shape, orientation, and distribution of mineral grains and the intergrain relationships, will determine whether the rock is termed a tuff, a pyroclastic lava or a simplelava. However, the texture is only a subordinate part of classifying volcanic rocks, as most often there needs to be chemical information gleaned from rocks with extremely fine-grained groundmass or from airfall tuffs, which may be formed from volcanic ash. Textural criteria are less critical in classifying intrusive rocks where the majority of minerals will be visible to the naked eye or at least using a hand lens, magnifying glass or microscope. Plutonic rocks tend also to be less texturally varied and less prone to gaining structural fabrics. Textural terms can be used to differentiate different intrusive phases of large plutons, for instance porphyritic margins to large intrusive bodies,porphyry stocks and subvolcanic dikes (apophyses). Mineralogical classification is used most often to classify plutonic rocks. Chemical classifications are preferred to classify volcanic rocks, with phenocryst species used as a prefix, e.g. "olivine-bearing picrite" or "orthoclase-phyric rhyolite".

see also List of rock textures and Igneous textures

Basic classification scheme for igneous rocks on theirmineralogy. If the approximate volume fractions of minerals in the rock are known the rock name and silica content can be read off the diagram. This is not an exact method because the classification of igneous rocks also depends on other components than silica, yet in most cases it is a good first guess.

[edit]Chemical

classification

Igneous rocks can be classified according to chemical or mineralogical parameters: Chemical: total alkali-silica content (TAS diagram) for volcanic rock classification used when modal or mineralogic data is unavailable:

felsic igneous rocks containing a high silica content, greater than 63%

SiO2 (examples granite and rhyolite)

intermediate igneous rocks containing between 52 - 63% SiO2 (example andesite and dacite) mafic igneous rocks have low silica 45 - 52% and typically high iron - magnesium content (example

gabbro and basalt)

ultramafic rock igneous rocks with less than 45% silica. (examples picrite, komatiite and peridotite) alkalic igneous rocks with 5 - 15% alkali (K2O + Na2O) content or with a molar ratio of alkali to silica

greater than 1:6. (examples phonolite and trachyte) Chemical classification also extends to differentiating rocks which are chemically similar according to the TAS diagram, for instance;

Ultrapotassic; rocks containing molar K2O/Na2O >3 Peralkaline; rocks containing molar (K2O + Na2O)/ Al2O3 >1 Peraluminous; rocks containing molar (K2O + Na2O)/ Al2O3 <1

An idealized mineralogy (the normative mineralogy) can be calculated from the chemical composition, and the calculation is useful for rocks too fine-grained or too altered for identification of minerals that crystallized from the melt. For instance, normative quartz classifies a rock as silica-oversaturated; an example is rhyolite. A normative feldspathoid classifies a rock as silica-undersaturated; an example is nephelinite.

[edit]History

of classification

In 1902 a group of American petrographers proposed that all existing classifications of igneous rocks should be discarded and replaced by a "quantitative" classification based on chemical analysis. They showed how vague and often unscientific was much of the existing terminology and argued that as the chemical composition of an igneous rock was its most fundamental characteristic it should be elevated to prime position. Geological occurrence, structure, mineralogical constitutionthe hitherto accepted criteria for the discrimination of rock specieswere relegated to the background. The completed rock analysis is first to be interpreted in terms of the rock-forming minerals which might be expected to be formed when the magma crystallizes, e.g., quartz feldspars, olivine, akermannite, feldspathoids, magnetite, corundum and so on, and the rocks are divided into groups strictly according to the relative proportion of these minerals to one another.[3][4]

[edit]Mineralogical

classification

For volcanic rocks, mineralogy is important in classifying and naming lavas. The most important criterion is the phenocryst species, followed by the groundmass mineralogy. Often, where the groundmass is aphanitic, chemical classification must be used to properly identify a volcanic rock. Mineralogic contents - felsic versus mafic

felsic rock, highest content of silicon, with predominance of quartz, alkali feldspar and/or

feldspathoids: the felsic minerals; these rocks (e.g., granite, rhyolite) are usually light coloured, and have low density.

mafic rock, lesser content of silicon relative to felsic rocks, with predominance of mafic

minerals pyroxenes, olivines and calcic plagioclase; these rocks (example, basalt, gabbro) are usually dark coloured, and have a higher density than felsic rocks.

ultramafic rock, lowest content of silicon, with more than 90% of mafic minerals (e.g., dunite).

For intrusive, plutonic and usually phaneritic igneous rocks where all minerals are visible at least via microscope, the mineralogy is used to classify the rock. This usually occurs onternary diagrams, where the relative proportions of three minerals are used to classify the rock. The following table is a simple subdivision of igneous rocks according both to their composition and mode of occurrence.

Composition Mode of occurrence Felsic Intermediate Mafic Ultramafic Intrusive Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite Extrusive Rhyolite Andesite Basalt Komatiite Essential rock forming silicates Felsic Intermediate Mafic Ultramafic Coarse Grained Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite Medium Grained Diabase Fine Grained Rhyolite Andesite Basalt Komatiite
For a more detailed classification see QAPF diagram.

[edit]Example

of classification

Granite is an igneous intrusive rock (crystallized at depth), with felsic composition (rich in silica and predominately quartz plus potassium-rich feldspar plus sodium-rich plagioclase) and phaneritic, subeuhedral texture (minerals are visible to the unaided eye and commonly some of them retain original crystallographic shapes).

[edit]Magma

origination

The Earth's crust averages about 35 kilometers thick under the continents, but averages only some 7-10 kilometers beneath the oceans. The continental crust is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks resting on crystalline basement formed of a great variety of metamorphic and igneous rocks including granulite and granite. Oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt and gabbro. Both continental and oceanic crust rest on peridotite of the mantle.

Rocks may melt in response to a decrease in pressure, to a change in composition such as an addition of water, to an increase in temperature, or to a combination of these processes. Other mechanisms, such as melting from impact of a meteorite, are less important today, but impacts during accretion of the Earth led to extensive melting, and the outer several hundred kilometers of our early Earth probably was an ocean of magma. Impacts of large meteorites in last few hundred million years have been proposed as one mechanism responsible for the extensive basalt magmatism of several large igneous provinces.

[edit]Decompression
Decompression melting occurs because of a decrease in pressure.[5] The solidus temperatures of most rocks (the temperatures below which they are completely solid) increase with increasing pressure in the absence of water. Peridotite at depth in the Earth's mantle may be hotter than its solidus temperature at some shallower level. If such rock rises during theconvection of solid mantle, it will cool slightly as it expands in an adiabatic process, but the cooling is only about 0.3C per kilometer. Experimental studies of appropriate peridotitesamples document that the solidus temperatures increase by 3C to 4C per kilometer. If the rock rises far enough, it will begin to melt. Melt droplets can coalesce into larger volumes and be intruded upwards. This process of melting from upward movement of solid mantle is critical in the evolution of the Earth. Decompression melting creates the ocean crust at mid-ocean ridges. It also causes volcanism in intraplate regions such as Europe, Africa and the Pacific sea floor. There, it is variously attributed either to the rise of mantle plumes (the "Plume hypothesis") or to intraplate extension (the "Plate hypothesis").[6]

[edit]Effects

of water and carbon dioxide

The change of rock composition most responsible for creation of magma is the addition of water. Water lowers the solidus temperature of rocks at a given pressure. For example, at a depth of about 100 kilometers, peridotite begins to melt near 800C in the presence of excess water, but near or above about 1500C in the absence of water.[7] Water is driven out of the oceanic lithosphere in subduction zones, and it causes melting in the overlying mantle. Hydrous magmas of basalt and andesite composition are produced directly and indirectly as results of dehydration during the subduction process. Such magmas and those derived from them build up island arcs such as those in the Pacific Ring of Fire. These magmas form rocks of the calc-alkaline series, an important part of continental crust. The addition of carbon dioxide is relatively a much less important cause of magma formation than addition of water, but genesis of some silica-undersaturated magmas has been attributed to the dominance of carbon dioxide over water in their mantle source regions. In the presence of carbon dioxide, experiments document that the peridotite solidus temperature decreases by about 200C in a narrow pressure interval at pressures

corresponding to a depth of about 70 km. At greater depths, carbon dioxide can have more effect: at depths to about 200 km, the temperatures of initial melting of a carbonated peridotite composition were determined to be 450C to 600C lower than for the same composition with no carbon dioxide.[8]Magmas of rock types such as nephelinite, carbonatite, and kimberlite are among those that may be generated following an influx of carbon dioxide into mantle at depths greater than about 70 km.

[edit]Temperature

increase

Increase of temperature is the most typical mechanism for formation of magma within continental crust. Such temperature increases can occur because of the upward intrusion of magma from the mantle. Temperatures can also exceed the solidus of a crustal rock in continental crust thickened by compression at a plate boundary. The plate boundary between the Indian and Asian continental masses provides a well-studied example, as the Tibetan Plateau just north of the boundary has crust about 80 kilometers thick, roughly twice the thickness of normal continental crust. Studies of electrical resistivity deduced from magnetotelluric data have detected a layer that appears to contain silicate melt and that stretches for at least 1000 kilometers within the middle crust along the southern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.[9] Granite and rhyolite are types of igneous rock commonly interpreted as products of melting of continental crust because of increases of temperature. Temperature increases also may contribute to the melting of lithosphere dragged down in a subduction zone.

[edit]Magma

evolution

Schematic diagrams showing the principles behind fractional crystallisation in amagma. While cooling, the magma evolves in composition because different minerals crystallize from the melt. 1: olivine crystallizes; 2: olivine and pyroxenecrystallize; 3: pyroxene and plagioclase crystallize; 4: plagioclase crystallizes. At the bottom of the magma reservoir, a cumulate rock forms.
Main article: Igneous differentiation

Most magmas only entirely melt for small parts of their histories. More typically, they are mixes of melt and crystals, and sometimes also of gas bubbles. Melt, crystals, and bubbles usually have different densities, and so they can separate as magmas evolve. As magma cools, minerals typically crystallize from the melt at different temperatures (fractional crystallization). As minerals crystallize, the composition of the residual melt typically changes. If crystals separate from melt, then the residual melt will differ in composition from the parent magma. For instance, a magma of gabbroic composition can produce a residual melt of granitic composition if early formed crystals are separated from the magma. Gabbro may have a liquidus temperature near 1200C, and derivative granite-composition melt may have a liquidus temperature as low as about 700C. Incompatible elements are concentrated in the last residues of magma during fractional crystallization and in the first melts produced during partial melting: either process can form the magma that crystallizes to pegmatite, a rock type commonly enriched in incompatible elements. Bowen's reaction series is important for understanding the idealised sequence of fractional crystallisation of a magma. Magma composition can be determined by processes other than partial melting and fractional crystallization. For instance, magmas commonly interact with rocks they intrude, both by melting those rocks and by reacting with them. Magmas of different compositions can mix with one another. In rare cases, melts can separate into two immiscible melts of contrasting compositions. There are relatively few minerals that are important in the formation of common igneous rocks, because the magma from which the minerals crystallize is rich in only certain elements:silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium. These are the elements which combine to form the silicate minerals, which account for over ninety percent of all igneous rocks. The chemistry of igneous rocks is expressed differently for major and minor elements and for trace elements. Contents of major and minor elements are conventionally expressed as weight percent oxides (e.g., 51% SiO2, and 1.50% TiO2). Abundances of trace elements are conventionally expressed as parts per million by weight (e.g., 420 ppm Ni, and 5.1 ppm Sm). The term "trace element" typically is used for elements present in most rocks at abundances less than 100 ppm or so, but some trace elements may be present in some rocks at abundances exceeding 1000 ppm. The diversity of rock compositions has been defined by a huge mass of analytical dataover 230,000 rock analyses can be accessed on the web through a site sponsored by the U. S. National Science Foundation (see the External Link to EarthChem).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rock

[edit]Etymology

Rock Identification Tables Identify almost any rock type you're likely to find By Andrew Alden, About.com Guide

See More About: rock identification igneous rocks sedimentary rocks metamorphic rocks Start by getting an idea of your basic rock classigneous, sedimentary or metamorphic. Next observe the rock's textureits grain size and overall patternconduct a basic hardness test, and identify the minerals that compose it as well as you can. With that information, you can consult the table for the appropriate rock class. Detailed instructions are beneath the tables. Grain Size fine fine fine fine or mixed fine or mixed fine or mixed mixed coarse coarse coarse coarse coarse coarse coarse coarse very coarse

Usual Color Other Composition dark glassy appearance lava glass light many small bubbles lava froth from sticky lava dark many large bubbles lava froth from fluid lava light contains quartz high-silica lava medium between felsite andof Igneous Rocks medium-silica lava Identification basalt dark has no quartz low-silica lava any color large grains in fine-grained matrix large grains of feldspar, quartz, pyroxene or olivine light wide range of color and grain size feldspar and quartz with minor mica, amphibole or pyr light like granite but without quartz feldspar with minor mica, amphibole or pyroxene light to mediumlittle or no alkali feldspar plagioclase and quartz with dark minerals medium to darklittle or no quartz low-calcium plagioclase and dark minerals medium to darkno quartz; may haveolivine high-calcium plagioclase and dark minerals dark dense; always hasolivine olivine with amphibole and/or pyroxene dark dense mostly pyroxene with olivine and amphibole green dense at least 90% olivine any color usually in small intrusive bodies typically granitic Identification of Sedimentary Rocks Other white to brown usually very coarse gray or dark and "dirty" round rocks in finer sediment matrix sharp pieces in finer sediment matrix feels gritty on teeth no fizzing with acid splits in layers black; burns with tarry smoke fizzes with acid no fizzing with acid unless powdered mostly pieces salt taste white, tan or pink

Hardness hard hard hard or soft hard or soft hard or soft hard hard soft soft soft soft soft very soft very soft

Grain Size coarse coarse mixed mixed mixed fine fine fine fine fine coarse or fine coarse coarse coarse

Composition clean quartz quartz and feldspar mixed sediment with rock grains and clay mixed rocks and sediment mixed rocks and sediment very fine sand; no clay chalcedony clay minerals carbon calcite dolomite fossil shells halite gypsum

Foliation foliated

Grain Size fine

Usual Color light

Identification of Metamorphic Rocks Other very soft; greasy feel

foliated foliated foliated foliated foliated foliated foliated nonfoliated nonfoliated nonfoliated nonfoliated nonfoliated

fine fine coarse coarse coarse coarse coarse fine fine or coarse coarse coarse coarse

dark dark mixed dark and light mixed dark and light mixed mixed dark greenish dark red and green light light

soft; "tink" when struck shiny; crinkly foliation crushed and stretched fabric; deformed large crystals wrinkled foliation; often has large crystals banded distorted "melted" layers mostly hornblende soft; shiny, mottled surface dull and opaque colors, found near intrusions dense; garnet and pyroxene soft; calcite or dolomite by the acid test quartz (no fizzing with acid)

These three tables will help you identify almost any rock type you're likely to find. ReadHow to Look at a Rock for help w igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic. This is not that hard! Igneous rocks are tough, frozen melts with little texture or layering; mostly black, white and/or gray minerals; m Sedimentary rocks are hardened sediment with sandy or clayey layers (strata); mostly brown to gray; may ha rocks) Metamorphic rocks are tough, with straight or curved layers (foliation) of light and dark minerals; various colo Next, check the rock's grain size and hardness.

Grain Size: "Coarse" grains are visible to the naked eye, and the minerals can usually be identified using a ma

identified with a magnifier. (using a magnifier, identifying minerals) Hardness: Hardness (as measured with the Mohs scale) actually refers to minerals rather than rocks, so a rock terms, "hard" rock scratches glass and steel, usually signifying the minerals quartz or feldspar (Mohs hardness 6-7 scratches fingernails (Mohs 3-5.5); "very soft" rock does not scratch fingernails (Mohs 1-2). Igneous rocks are alwa

http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/a/Rock-Tables.htm

LSF Home | Geology Web Sites | Courses | JMU Geology Last Update: 9/29/00 e-mail: (Fichtels@Jmu.Edu)

Conclusions
The present day earth is the result of an evolutionary rock cycle. The earth began as a planet with a limited variety of rock types and has evolved to a state where a very large variety of rocks exist. Furthermore, no mechanisms exist to reverse the processes. The earth cannot devolve to something simpler. In another sense the earth is behaving as a dissipative structure. All the tectonic and igneous processes require energy, and the dissipation of that energy has resulted in an earth which has gone from a simple composition, and evolved to greater and greater complexity measured by the increasing variety of rocks composing the earth.
http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/fichter/IgnRx/igclass.html

Igneous Rocks
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Igneous rocks are one of the three major rock types and are
basically rocks that solidified from magma. Magma is the term for liquid or melted rock and is usually quite hot. After all, the term igneous comes from the Latin word for "of fire". Most people have seen pictures or video of magma that flows out of a volcano. When magma flows onto the surface of the Earth it is called lava. When the lava cools and forms a rock, that rock is an igneous rock. But there are also rocks that form from magma that does not reach the surface of the Earth. These rocks form in what are often

called plutons and are also types of igneous rocks. These two types of igneous rocks are called extrusive (because it extruded or came out of the Earth) and intrusive(because it intruded and stayed inside the Earth). They are also referred to respectively as volcanic and plutonic. Classifying igneous rocks into these two main types is easy and logical for the most part. If the rock formed from lava spilling onto the surface of the rock then it is an extrusive or volcanic igneous rock. If the rock never made it to the surface before it cooled into a rock, then it is an intrusive or plutonic igneous rock. Easy right? Well, further classification of igneous rocks is a bit more complicated. There are several classification techniques classifying igneous rocks that apply different methods and derive different results. One technique applies chemical composition as the major distinguishing factor. This technique provides the petrologist (or rock scientist) with a good objective method of determining the true origins of the rock from a plate tectonics aspect. The chemistry of igneous rocks and plate tectonics are closely related and therefore the origin of a rock's chemistry and not its minerals or methods of formation is important to petrologists who use this method of classification. A question that a plate tectonics scientist would want to know is, did the rock originate in a high silica, low iron and high hydrous magma that may have resulted from the subduction of certain types of crustal rock? They are less interested in the minerals that might have formed there or whether the rock is glassy or fine grained. This type of classification does not lend itself well to the understanding of minerals in the rock or to easy identification by rock hounds. Terms used in this classification technique include acidic,intermediate, basic and ultrabasic. Acidic rocks contain a lot of silica, SiO2. Basic rocks have around 50% or less silica and a lot of magnesium and iron. Further classification depends on other chemical analysis. Terms derived from this classification technique are often used to characterize rocks that are classified from other methods. Another classification technique uses the mineral components of the rock and is called the modal method of classification. Identification

of the rock's minerals is of course important and is easy to do when the minerals are found in large crystals and can easily be identified. This method has "official" approval and is generally what petrologists use to classify rock samples. When the crystals are too small to be seen without a microscope, then true identification becomes a problem in the field. Generalized terms used in this classification technique include felsic, intermediate,mafic and ultramafic. Felsic rocks, similar to acidic rocks, contain a lot of silica, sodium and calcium and form quartz and feldspar minerals; felsic is short for feldspar/silica. Mafic, similar to basic rocks, have a lot of magnesium and iron (ferrous) and is short for magnesium/ferrous. Generally the important aspect of this classification is the ratio of three minerals and tertiary diagrams are used to classify the rocks. In rocks that contain feldspars and quartz then the ratio of quartz toplagioclase feldspars to calcium or alkali feldspars is used. For example, an igneous rock that has around 50% quartz to 25% plagioclase and 25% alkali feldspar is classified as granite. The boundaries between rock names are arbitrary and a classification diagram is necessary. Ultramafic rocks which generally do not have manyquartz or feldspar minerals are classified based on their percentages of olivine,pyroxene and hornblende. Feldspathoid rocks which do not have quartz are classified based on their plagioclase feldspar/alkali feldspar/feldspathoid percentages. Calcitecan be the predominant mineral in a special case of igneous rock and then the rock is classified as a carbonatite. A third general type of classification uses a variety of characteristics and is therefore more subjective, but sometimes easier to use for the average rock hound. It involves the use of the rocks texture, color and mineralogy. Although not an official classification technique, it nevertheless produces a field-identifiable way to classify igneous rocks. Rocks are divided by their texture from glassy to fine grained (aphanitic) to course grained (phaneritic). The terms such as fragmented, vesicular(having a lot of holes), porphoritic (large crystals in a glassy or fine grained matrix) and pegmatitic (all crystals are large) are used to further

describe the texture. After texture is applied, color comes into play. Generally the rock is described from light to dark in color. Finally the mineralogy is applied if known. This is generally used for rocks that contain a large amount of one particular mineral such as calcite for carbonatite oranorthite for anorthosite. Using this technique is easier, but leads to misidentifications and is not useful for scientific analysis. But at least we generally know what igneous rock we are looking at. And isn't that the purpose of classification anyways? Below are the main types of igneous rocks and their general attributes that place them into the various classification schemes: PLUTONIC - Intrusive igneous rocks:
NAME: CHEMISTR Y Plagioclase Feldspars MINERALS COLOR TEXTUR E ORIGINS ANORTHOSITE Acidic White to Phaneritic ancient Black plutons, mountains of the moon shades of gray Aphanitic igneous intrusive structures, very rarely as a volcanic rock Phaneritic Plutons associated with volcanic arcs

CARBONATITE Acidic

Calcite, Trona and other rarecarbonates

DIORITE

Intermediate Mostly plagioclase feldsparsand little or no quartz

white with dark specks

DUNITE

Ultrabasic

Mostly olivine with somepyroxenes and chromite

dark Phaneritic Deep green to to Oceanic black aphanitic crust Dark Phaneritic Oceanic green to crust and black magmatic segregation generall Phaneritic Continental y light to crusts and colors pegmatitic mountain from belts white, pink to gray

GABBRO

Basic

pyroxenes, amphiboles, olivineand plagioclase feldspars

GRANITE

Acidic

quartz, plagioclase feldspars,alkali feldspars and micas

KIMBERLITE

Ultrabasic

olivine, phlogopite, pyroxenes,ilmenite, diopside, chromite,spinel, pyr Dark Phaneritic Deep ope and rarediamonds green to to mantle to black porphyritic crust intrusions Biotite, amphiboles,pyroxenes, orthoclase, andplagioclase feldspars Dark gray to Porphyriti Dikes and c some pluton

LAMPROPHYRE Ultrbasic S

black MONZONITE

extremeties

Intermediate A variety of feldspars and somehornblende, Biotite and rarelyquartz if generall Phaneritic Crustal any y light intrusions colors of plutons white, pink, green and gray Acidic quartz, feldspars, micas,tourmalines and others generall Pegmatitic Granitic y light intrusions colors of white, pink, green and gray dark Phaneritic Deep green to to oceanic black aphanitic crust black to Aphanitic Dikes dark gray Light Phaneritic Plutons colors from white to pink to orange

PEGMATITE

PERIDOTITE

Ultrabasic

olivine and pyroxenes with some plagioclase feldspars,amphiboles and chromite Predominantly pyroxenes

PYROXENITE

Ultrabasic

SYENITE

Acidic

orthoclase, plagioclase feldspars, hornblende, micasand little or no quartz

VOLCANIC - Extrusive igneous rocks:

NAME: ANDESITE

CHEMISTRY Intermediate

BASALT

Glassy, vesicular and porphyritic DACITE Acidic Aphanitic to porphyritic KOMATIITE Ultrabasic Various shades Unique spinifex of gray texture OBSIDIAN Acidic Black Glassy some with (generally) phenocryst of cristobalite PUMICE Generally acidic light to dark Vesicular to

Basic

COLOR Variable from white or gray to nearly black Generally black light colors

TEXTURE Aphanitic to porphyritic

RHYOLITE SCORIA

to intermediate Acidic

gray white to light gray colors Intermediate to black to dark basic (generally) red

glassy chards Aphanitic to porphyritic. Vesicular and ropy glassy fragments

About Igneous Rocks

By Andrew Alden, About.com Guide

See More About:

igneous rocks lava granite basalt

Pumice is a gas-charged igneous rock Photo (c) Andrew Alden, licensed to About.com (fair use policy) More Images (3)

Ads RockViewer - PetrographyPetrographic Atlas - 600 photos You can also create your catalog.www.endeeper.com Silica manufacturerQualified, hydrophilic silica Discount prices- Fast delivery.www.widinc.net/silicone

Tau GeophysicsGeophysical interpretations for mineral explorationwww.tau-geophysics.ca Geology Ads

Landscape Rocks Volcano Rock Garden Rocks Igneous Rock Geology

Ads Mineral Grinding MillSupply kinds of mineral mills, bentonite/mica/feldpar/kaolin mill!www.shcrusher.com Minerals & CrystalsCollectable Products - Expert Miner From Madagascar & Other Countrieswww.mineraloo.com.au/ At the most general level, rocks fall into three great categories, and they're pretty simple to tell apart. You won't even need a rock hammer or hand lens, though those are fun to have. Igneous rocks are the first great class. Origin of Igneous Rocks Igneous rocks begin as hot, fluid material, and the word "igneous" comes from the Latin for fire. This material may have been lava erupted at the Earth's surface, or magma (unerupted lava) at shallow depths, or magma in deep bodies (plutons). Rock formed of lava is called extrusive, rock from shallow magma is called intrusive and rock from deep magma is called plutonic.

Igneous rocks form in three main places: where lithospheric plates pull apart at mid-ocean ridges, where plates come together at subduction zones and where continental crust is pushed together, making it thicker and allowing it to heat to melting. (To learn more about how igneous rocks form, see About Volcanism.) People commonly think of lava and magma as a liquid, like molten metal, but geologists find that magma is usually a mush a liquid carrying a load of mineral crystals. Magma crystallizes into a collection of minerals, and some crystallize sooner than others. Not just that, but when they crystallize, they leave the remaining liquid with a changed chemical composition. Thus a body of magma, as it cools, evolves, and as it moves through the crust, interacting with other rocks, it evolves further. This makes igneous petrology a very complex field, and this article is only the barest outline. Igneous Rock Textures Tell the three types of igneous rocks apart by their texture, starting with the size of the mineral grains. Extrusive rocks cool quickly (over periods of seconds to months) and have invisible or very small grains, or an aphanitic texture. Intrusive rocks cool more slowly (over thousands of years) and have small to mediumsized grains. Plutonic rocks cool over millions of years, deep underground, and can have grains as large as pebbles even a meter across. Both intrusive and plutonic rocks have phaneritic texture.

Because they solidified from a fluid state, igneous rocks tend to have an equigranular texture, a uniform fabric without layers, and the mineral grains are packed together tightly. Think of the texture of a piece of bread as a similar example. In many igneous rocks, large mineral crystals "float" in a fine-grained groundmass. The large grains are called phenocrysts, and a rock with phenocrysts is called a porphyry; that is, it has a porphyritic texture. Phenocrysts are minerals that solidified earlier than the rest of the rock, and they are important clues to the rock's history. Some extrusive rocks have distinctive textures. Obsidian, formed when lava hardens quickly, has a glassy texture. Pumice and scoria are volcanic froth, puffed up by millions of gas bubbles giving them a vesicular texture. Tuffis a rock made entirely of volcanic ash, fallen from the air or avalanched down a volcano's sides. It has a pyroclastic texture. And pillow lava is a lumpy formation created by extruding lava underwater. Igneous Rock Types: Basalt, Granite and More Igneous rocks are classified by the minerals they contain. The main minerals in igneous rocks are hard, primary ones: feldspar, quartz, amphiboles and pyroxenes (tog ether called "dark minerals" by geologists), and olivine along with the softer mineral mica. The two best-known igneous rock types are basalt and granite, which differ in

composition.Basalt is the dark, fine-grained stuff of many lava flows and magma intrusions. Its dark minerals are rich in magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe), hence basalt is called a mafic rock. So basalt is mafic and either extrusive or intrusive. Granite is the light, coarse-grained rock formed at depth and exposed after deep erosion. It is rich in feldspar and quartz (silica) and hence is called a felsic rock. So granite is felsic and plutonic. These two categories cover the great majority of igneous rocks. Ordinary people, even ordinary geologists, use the names freely. (Stone dealers call any plutonic rock at all "granite.") But igneous petrologists use many more names. They generally talk aboutbasaltic and granitic or granitoid rocks among themselves and out in the field, because it takes lab work to determine an exact rock type according to the official classifications. True granite and true basalt are narrow subsets of these categories. (Get deeper into classification) But a few of the less common igneous rock types can be recognized by non-specialists. For instance a darkcolored plutonic mafic rock, the deep version of basalt, is called gabbro. A light-colored intrusive or extrusive felsic rock, the shallow version of granite, is called felsiteor rhyolite. And there is a suite of ultramafic rocks with even more dark minerals and even less silica than basalt. Peridotite is the foremost of those. Where Igneous Rocks Are Found

The deep sea floor (the oceanic crust) is made of basaltic rocks, with ultramafic rocks underneath. Basalts are also erupted above the Earth's great subduction zones, either in volcanic island arcs or along the edges of continents. However, continental magmas tend to be less basaltic and more granitic. (more on arc volcanism) The continents are the exclusive home of granitic rocks. Nearly everywhere on the continents, no matter what rocks are on the surface, you can drill down and reach granitoid eventually. In general, granitic rocks are less dense than basaltic rocks, and thus the continents actually float higher than the oceanic crust on top of the ultramafic rocks of the Earth's mantle. The behavior and histories of granitic rock bodies are among geology's deepest and most intricate mysteries.
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