Igneous Rock Identification (Before Lab) Flashcards
Gabbro
Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark-colored, intrusive igneous rock. It is usually black or dark green in color and composed mainly of the minerals plagioclase and augite. It is the most abundant rock in the deep oceanic crust. Gabbro has a variety of uses in the construction industry. It is used for everything from crushed stone base materials at construction sites to polished stone counter tops and floor tiles.
Peridotite
Peridotite is a generic name used for coarse-grained, dark-colored, ultramafic igneous rocks. Peridotites usually contain olivine as their primary mineral, frequently with other mafic minerals such as pyroxenes and amphiboles. Their silica content is low compared to other igneous rocks, and they contain very little quartz and feldspar.
Peridotites are economically important rocks because they often contain chromite - the only ore of chromium; they can be source rocks for diamonds; and, they have the potential to be used as a material for sequestering carbon dioxide. Much of Earth’s mantle is believed to be composed of peridotite.
Tuff
uff is an igneous rock that forms from the products of an explosive volcanic eruption. In these eruptions, the volcano blasts rock, ash, magma and other materials from its vent. This ejecta travels through the air and falls back to Earth in the area surrounding the volcano. If the ejected material is compacted and cemented into a rock, that rock will be called “tuff.”
Tuff is usually thickest near the volcanic vent and decreases in thickness with distance from the volcano. Instead of being a “layer,” a tuff is usually a “lens-shaped” deposit. Tuff can also be thickest on the downwind side of the vent or on the side of the vent where the blast was directed.
Some tuff deposits are hundreds of meters thick and have a total eruptive volume of many cubic miles. That enormous thickness can be from a single eruptive blast or, more commonly, from successive surges of a single eruption - or eruptions that were separated by long periods of time.
Rhyolite
Felsic
Dominated by Quartz, Potassium Feldspar, Sodium-rich Plagioclase feldspar
0-25% Dark Minerals
Amphanitic
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock with a very high silica content. It is usually pink or gray in color with grains so small that they are difficult to observe without a hand lens. Rhyolite is made up of quartz, plagioclase, and sanidine, with minor amounts of hornblende and biotite. Trapped gases often produce vugs in the rock. These often contain crystals, opal, or glassy material.
Many rhyolites form from granitic magma that has partially cooled in the subsurface. When these magmas erupt, a rock with two grain sizes can form. The large crystals that formed beneath the surface are called phenocrysts, and the small crystals formed at the surface are called groundmass.
Rhyolite usually forms in continental or continent-margin volcanic eruptions where granitic magma reaches the surface. Rhyolite is rarely produced at oceanic eruptions.
Granite
Felsic
Dominated by Quartz, Potassium Feldspar, Sodium-rich Plagioclase feldspar
0-25% Dark Minerals
Phaneritic
Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth’s surface. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray, or white color with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.
Diorite
Intermediate
Amphibole, sodium, and calcite-rich plagioclase feldspar
25%-45% Dark Minerals
Phaneritic
Diorite is the name used for a group of coarse-grained igneous rocks with a composition between that of granite and basalt. It usually occurs as large intrusions, dikes, and sills within continental crust. These often form above a convergent plate boundary where an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate.
Partial melting of the oceanic plate produces a basaltic magma that rises and intrudes the granitic rock of the continental plate. There, the basaltic magma mixes with granitic magmas or melts granitic rock as it ascends through the continental plate. This produces a melt that is intermediate in composition between basalt and granite. Diorite forms if this type of melt crystallizes below the surface.
Diorite is usually composed of sodium-rich plagioclasewith lesser amounts of hornblende and biotite. It usually contains little if any quartz. This makes diorite a coarse-grained rock with a contrasting mix of black and white mineral grains. Students often use this “salt and pepper” appearance as a clue to the identification of diorite.
Pumice
Pumice is a light-colored, extremely porous igneous rockthat forms during explosive volcanic eruptions. It is used as aggregate in lightweight concrete, as landscaping aggregate, and as an abrasive in a variety of industrial and consumer products. Many specimens have a high enough porosity that they can float on water until they slowly become waterlogged.
Basalt
Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained, igneous rockcomposed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a lava flow, but can also form in small intrusive bodies, such as an igneous dike or a thin sill. It has a composition similar to gabbro. The difference between basalt and gabbro is that basalt is a fine-grained rock while gabbro is a coarse-grained rock.
Obsidian
Obsidian is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock material cools so rapidly that atoms are unable to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure. It is an amorphous material known as a “mineraloid.” The result is a volcanic glass with a smooth uniform texture that breaks with a conchoidal fracture.
Rhyolite
Felsic
Dominated by Quartz, Potassium Feldspar, Sodium-rich Plagioclase feldspar
0-25% Dark Minerals
Amphanitic
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock with a very high silica content. It is usually pink or gray in color with grains so small that they are difficult to observe without a hand lens. Rhyolite is made up of quartz, plagioclase, and sanidine, with minor amounts of hornblende and biotite. Trapped gases often produce vugs in the rock. These often contain crystals, opal, or glassy material.
Many rhyolites form from granitic magma that has partially cooled in the subsurface. When these magmas erupt, a rock with two grain sizes can form. The large crystals that formed beneath the surface are called phenocrysts, and the small crystals formed at the surface are called groundmass.
Rhyolite usually forms in continental or continent-margin volcanic eruptions where granitic magma reaches the surface. Rhyolite is rarely produced at oceanic eruptions.
Granite
Felsic
Dominated by Quartz, Potassium Feldspar, Sodium-rich Plagioclase feldspar
0-25% Dark Minerals
Phaneritic
Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth’s surface. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray, or white color with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.
Diorite
Intermediate
Amphibole, sodium, and calcite-rich plagioclase feldspar
25%-45% Dark Minerals
Phaneritic
Diorite is the name used for a group of coarse-grained igneous rocks with a composition between that of granite and basalt. It usually occurs as large intrusions, dikes, and sills within continental crust. These often form above a convergent plate boundary where an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continental plate.
Partial melting of the oceanic plate produces a basaltic magma that rises and intrudes the granitic rock of the continental plate. There, the basaltic magma mixes with granitic magmas or melts granitic rock as it ascends through the continental plate. This produces a melt that is intermediate in composition between basalt and granite. Diorite forms if this type of melt crystallizes below the surface.
Diorite is usually composed of sodium-rich plagioclasewith lesser amounts of hornblende and biotite. It usually contains little if any quartz. This makes diorite a coarse-grained rock with a contrasting mix of black and white mineral grains. Students often use this “salt and pepper” appearance as a clue to the identification of diorite.
Scoria
Scoria is a dark-colored igneous rock with abundant round bubble-like cavities known as vesicles. It ranges in color from black or dark gray to deep reddish brown. Scoria usually has a composition similar to basalt, but it can also have a composition similar to andesite.
Many people believe that small pieces of scoria look like the ash produced in a coal furnace. That has resulted in particles of scoria being called “cinders” and the small volcanoes that erupt scoria to be called “cinder cones.”
Tuff
Tuff is an igneous rock that forms from the products of an explosive volcanic eruption. In these eruptions, the volcano blasts rock, ash, magma and other materials from its vent. This ejecta travels through the air and falls back to Earth in the area surrounding the volcano. If the ejected material is compacted and cemented into a rock, that rock will be called “tuff.”
Tuff is usually thickest near the volcanic vent and decreases in thickness with distance from the volcano. Instead of being a “layer,” a tuff is usually a “lens-shaped” deposit. Tuff can also be thickest on the downwind side of the vent or on the side of the vent where the blast was directed.
Some tuff deposits are hundreds of meters thick and have a total eruptive volume of many cubic miles. That enormous thickness can be from a single eruptive blast or, more commonly, from successive surges of a single eruption - or eruptions that were separated by long periods of time.
Peridotite
Peridotite is a generic name used for coarse-grained, dark-colored, ultramafic igneous rocks. Peridotites usually contain olivine as their primary mineral, frequently with other mafic minerals such as pyroxenes and amphiboles. Their silica content is low compared to other igneous rocks, and they contain very little quartz and feldspar.
Peridotites are economically important rocks because they often contain chromite - the only ore of chromium; they can be source rocks for diamonds; and, they have the potential to be used as a material for sequestering carbon dioxide. Much of Earth’s mantle is believed to be composed of peridotite.
Gabbro
Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark-colored, intrusive igneous rock. It is usually black or dark green in color and composed mainly of the minerals plagioclase and augite. It is the most abundant rock in the deep oceanic crust. Gabbro has a variety of uses in the construction industry. It is used for everything from crushed stone base materials at construction sites to polished stone counter tops and floor tiles.
Scoria
Scoria is a dark-colored igneous rock with abundant round bubble-like cavities known as vesicles. It ranges in color from black or dark gray to deep reddish brown. Scoria usually has a composition similar to basalt, but it can also have a composition similar to andesite.
Many people believe that small pieces of scoria look like the ash produced in a coal furnace. That has resulted in particles of scoria being called “cinders” and the small volcanoes that erupt scoria to be called “cinder cones.”
Pumice
Pumice is a light-colored, extremely porous igneous rockthat forms during explosive volcanic eruptions. It is used as aggregate in lightweight concrete, as landscaping aggregate, and as an abrasive in a variety of industrial and consumer products. Many specimens have a high enough porosity that they can float on water until they slowly become waterlogged.
Andesite
Intermediate
Amphibole, sodium, and calcite-rich plagioclase feldspar
25%-45% Dark Minerals
Aphanitic
Andesite is the name used for a family of fine-grained, extrusive igneous rocks that are usually light to dark gray in color. They often weather to various shades of brown, and these specimens must be broken for proper examination. Andesite is rich in plagioclase feldsparminerals and may contain biotite, pyroxene, or amphibole. Andesite usually does not contain quartz or olivine.
Andesite is typically found in lava flows produced by stratovolcanoes. Because these lavas cooled rapidly at the surface, they are generally composed of small crystals. The mineral grains are usually so small that they cannot be seen without the use of a magnifying device. Some specimens that cooled rapidly contain a significant amount of glass, while others that formed from gas-charged lavas have a vesicular or amygdaloidal texture.
Granite
Felsic
Dominated by Quartz, Potassium Feldspar, Sodium-rich Plagioclase feldspar
0-25% Dark Minerals
Phaneritic
Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth’s surface. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray, or white color with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.
Volcanic Breccia
Basalt
Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained, igneous rockcomposed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a lava flow, but can also form in small intrusive bodies, such as an igneous dike or a thin sill. It has a composition similar to gabbro. The difference between basalt and gabbro is that basalt is a fine-grained rock while gabbro is a coarse-grained rock.
Volcanic Breccia
Andesite
Intermediate
Amphibole, sodium, and calcite-rich plagioclase feldspar
25%-45% Dark Minerals
Aphanitic
Andesite is the name used for a family of fine-grained, extrusive igneous rocks that are usually light to dark gray in color. They often weather to various shades of brown, and these specimens must be broken for proper examination. Andesite is rich in plagioclase feldsparminerals and may contain biotite, pyroxene, or amphibole. Andesite usually does not contain quartz or olivine.
Andesite is typically found in lava flows produced by stratovolcanoes. Because these lavas cooled rapidly at the surface, they are generally composed of small crystals. The mineral grains are usually so small that they cannot be seen without the use of a magnifying device. Some specimens that cooled rapidly contain a significant amount of glass, while others that formed from gas-charged lavas have a vesicular or amygdaloidal texture.
