Igneous Rocks

CE-233

Igneous Rocks:

Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten rock material. Igneous
Rocks form by crystallization of molten (melted) material; either magma (within the
earth) or lava (on the surface of the earth).

How Igneous Rock Is Formed? :

Igneous rocks are called fire rocks and are formed either underground or above
ground. Underground, they are formed when the melted rock, called magma, deep
within the earth becomes trapped in small pockets. As these pockets of magma cool
slowly underground, the magma becomes igneous rocks.

Igneous rocks are also formed when volcanoes erupt, causing the magma to rise above
the earth's surface. When magma appears above the earth, it is called lava. Igneous
rocks are formed as the lava cools above ground.

Characteristics:

 Interlocking grains
 Lack of fossils
 Chilled margins against adjacent rocks
 Thermal alteration of adjacent rocks
Igneous rock are geologically important because:

 their minerals and global chemistry gives information about the composition
of the mantle where they were extracted from, and the temperature and
pressure conditions that allowed this extraction, or (below) their minerals and
global chemistry gives information about the composition of the country pre-
existing rock that melted
 their absolute ages can be obtained from various forms of radiometric dating
and thus can be compared to adjacent strata, allowing a time sequence of
events
 their features are usually characteristic of a specific tectonic environment,
allowing tectonic reconstitutions
 in some special circumstances they host important mineral deposits.

Texture :

The most important distinction in igneous rocks textures is related to grain size.
 Phaneritic rocks contain minerals with grains (crystals) visible to the unaided
eye and are commonly intrusive (as the slower cooling rates allow the
formation of large crystals). In the extreme, such rocks may contain extremely
large crystals, in which case they are termed pegmatitic.
 In extrusive rocks, where cooling is much more rapid, the individual mineral
crystals are usually not visible and these rocks are termed aphanitic.
 Porphyritic textures are an intermediate situation between the previous two:
the groundmass of the rock has an aphanitic texture, but crystals (termed in
this particular occurrence as phenocrystals) are visible to unaided eye.
 If a molten magma cools at extremely high rates, allowing no crystallization,
the result is a vulcanic glass called obsidian.

Chemical Composition :

Igneous rocks can be subdivided according to two main chemical parameters:

contents of silica:
 acid igneous rocks present a high silica content (ex: granite)
 basic igneous rocks have low silica content (ex: basalt)
 intermediate igneous rocks

contents of quartz, alkali feldspar and feldspatoids: the felsic minerals :

 felsic rock, with predominance of felsic minerals; these rocks (ex: granite)
are usually light coloured
 mafic rock, with predominance of mafic minerals (all other minerals,
excluding the felsic); these rocks (ex: basalt) are usually dark coloured
 ultramaphic rock, with more that 90% of mafic minerals (ex: dunite)

Note that light coloured rocks, such as limestone or sandstone cannot be classified
as felsic, because their origin is not igneous, is sedimentary.
The following table is a simple subdivision of igneous rocks according both to
their composition and mode of occurrence.
Composition
Mode of Acid Intermediate Basic Ultrabasic
occurrence
Intrusive Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite
Extrusive Rhyolite Andesite Basalt
Types of Rocks :

Types of Igneous Rocks:

There are two basic types:

1) Intrusive igneous rocks (plutonic) cooled below the surface of the earth.
Generally these rocks display larger crystals due to the increased amount of
time spent at mineral crystallization temperatures from the insulating effect
of surrounding material.
Common features:
 Cross-cutting of pre-existing structures
 Coarse-grained
 Lack of layering
 Lack of vesicles
Examples: granite, gabbro, diorite, peridotite.

2) Extrusive igneous rocks (volcanic) are formed from magma at or above the
surface of the earth. Generally these rocks display smaller mineral crystals, or no
crystals at all, because of the rapid cooling environment in which they form.
Chemically, an intrusive and extrusive rock could be identical, the only difference
being the size of the mineral crystals they contain.
Common features:
 Respect for pre-existing surfaces
 Fine-grained
 Layering
 Vesicles
Examples: obsidian, andesite, rhyolite, pumice, scoria, basalt.
 A=slow, B=rapid, C=1-10mm, D=obsidian

Details of some Igneous Rocks:

Some Extrusive/volcanic rocks :

Rocks Silica Viscosity and Common Minerals Eruptions

Content Tendency to temperatures
(by weight) Explode (°C)
Basalt 48-52% Low Olivine, pyroxene and 1100-1250
plagioclase
Andesite 52-63% Medium Plagioclase, pyroxene, lesser 900-1100
amounts of hornblende,
sometimes olivine
Dacite 63-68% High Plagioclase, pyroxene, and 800-1000
amphibole
Rhyolite 68-77% Very High Quartz, feldspar and biotite 700-850
Some Intrusive/Plutonic Igneous Rocks :

Rocks Composition Notes

Granite  Quartz > 20%  The quintessential light-colored quart-
 Feldspar = orthoclase + plagioclase dominated felsic continental rock
 Mica = biotite ± muskovite  If plagioclase > orthoclase, it's called tonolite or
 Occ. hornblende plagiogranite
 If orthoclase > plagioclase, it's an alkali granite
Granodiorite  Quartz > 20%  An intermediate rock with high quartz and
 Feldspar = Na/Ca plagioclase mafic content, an unusual combination
 Biotite + amphibole = 10-25%  With quartz < 5%, it would be a diorite instead
 Salt-and-pepper appearance
Diorite  Quartz ~ 0%  An intermediate to mafic rock
 Feldspar = Na/Ca plagioclase  If quartz reaches 5-20%, it becomes
 Amphibole ~ 50% granodiorite
 Occ. biotite  Orthoclase is absent
 Mafic content is too high to be a monzonite
 Salt-and-pepper appearance
Gabbro  Feldspar = Ca plagioclase  The most mafic of the common intrusives
 Pyroxene ~ 50%  Dominates the lower continental and oceanic
 Freq. amphibole crust
 Occ. olivine  Usually dark-colored
 Diabase, a finer-grained version of gabbro, is a
common fill in dark dikes
Common Intrusive Forms :

 Batholiths: Batholiths are very large bodies of crystalline rocks, typically composed of
granite. They are the largest rock bodies in the earth's crust, and they can cover several
thousand square kilometers. For example, the Idaho batholith is a large body of granite
exposed over an area of over 40,000 square kilometers. It is unknown how deep under the
surface that batholiths extend, although we know they do not extend into the mantle.
 Stocks: Stocks are essentially small batholiths, less than 100 square kilometers. Stocks are
important because many deposits of silver, gold, and other metals have been found in veins
extending from a stock into the surrounding rock.
 Dikes: A dike is a narrow, tabular body of igneous rock. It forms where magma squeezes into
fractures in the surrounding rock and cools. The width of a dike can range from inches to
hundreds of feet, and the length of a dike can be several hundred miles. Dikes can be
prominent geologic features at the surface, as the hard igneous rock does not weather as fast as
the surrounding material.
 Sills. A sill is a tabular intrusive layer of rock that is parallel, or concordant to, the layering.
Generally the sills are approximately parallel to the layered rock beds, whereas the dikes are
perpendicular to them. Why would a sill form? Rising magma follows the path of least
resistance. If the magma can no longer rise, then the path of least resistance may take it
laterally in between the rock layers. Sills are typically from mafic magmas, as the felsic
magmas are not as fluid. The term geologists use to describe a liquid's ability to flow is called
viscous. Mafic magmas are less viscous than felsic magmas. Substances with high viscosity
have a high resistance to flow. Sills commonly have inclusions, which are blocks and pieces
of the surrounding rocks embedded in the igneous material of the sill.
 Laccolith: A laccolith is an intrusive rock body that begins as a sill, as material fills in
between rock layers. Because of the pressure, some sills can arch up the overlying sediments,
creating a lens-shaped rock body, with a flat bottom, but curved at the top. Laccoliths tend to
form at shallow depths.

dikes, sills, batholith. stock

Laccolith
Below is Bowen’s Reaction Series:

As you can see, the diagram is composed of three main parts: the temperature scale on the left,
presented in Kelvin, the minerals, which are located in the center, and on the right are the
classifications under which the different minerals fall. The different branches of minerals represent the
Discontinuous Reaction Series and the Continuous Reaction Series, which are located on the right. The
Discontinuous Reaction Series minerals form from already-present crystals, and react with the magma,
one step at a time, to become a new mineral. The Continuous Reaction Series minerals gradually and
continuously change in the process of becoming a new mineral.

Basically, Bowen’s Reaction Series is a diagram that maps the progression of a mineral with basaltic
origins as it changes into other minerals. These processes would take place inside the earth, either deep
inside the mantle, or only shielded be a thin layer of the crust. I find it very interesting that a mafic
mineral can transform into a felsic mineral.

One flaw with Bowen’s Reaction Series is that his series is based on the assumption that all magma
comes from Basaltic magma. However, this is now understood to be a false assumption, and therefore,
more reaction series exist than just Bowen’s. His work is still valid, though, and geologists continue to
use it.