Igneous Rocks

When most people think about igneous rocks they envision a volcano erupting pumice and
lava. The term igneous comes to us from the Latin word "Ignis" which means fire. Igneous
rocks are produced this way but most igneous rocks are produced deep underground by the
cooling and hardening of magma. Magma is molten (melted) rock under the surface of the
Earth. It is produced in the upper reaches of the mantle or in the lowest areas of the crust
usually at a depth of 50 to 200 kilometers.

The diagram above shows you where magma is produced at a subduction zone. Magma is
less dense than the surrounding rock which causes it to rise. When magma reaches the
surface it is then called lava and the eruptions of lava and ash produce volcanoes. The lava
that reaches the Earth's surface will harden and become igneous rock. When the magma
does not reach the surface it produces a variety of geologic structures. When lava reaches
the surface of the Earth through volcanoes or through great fissures the rocks that are
formed from the lava cooling and hardening are called extrusive igneous rocks. Some of the
more common types of extrusive igneous rocks are lava rocks, cinders, pumice, obsidian,
and volcanic ash and dust.
Millions and even billions of years ago molten rock was cooling and thus hardening into
igneous rocks deep under the surface of the Earth. These rocks are now visible because
mountain building has thrust them upward and erosion has removed the softer rocks
exposing the much harder igneous rocks. These are called intrusive igneous rocks because
the magma has intruded into pre-exiting rock layers. Types of intrusive igneous rocks are
granite andbasalt.

As you can see in the diagram above a batholith is a very large intrusive igneous body. There
are two types of intrusive bodies that we are going to discuss 1) Discordant and 2)
Concordant. A discordant igneous rock body cuts across the pre-exiting rock bed. Batholiths
and dikes are examples of discordant rock bodies. A dike is a vertical or near vertical
intrusive igneous rock body that cuts across rock beds. They frequently form from explosive
eruptions that crack the area around a volcano with the magma filling the cracks forming a
dike.
A concordant igneous rock body runs parallel to the pre-existing bedrock. Laccoliths and sills
are examples of concordant igneous rock bodies. A laccolith is a dome shaped intrusive
body that has intruded between layers of sedimentary rock. The rising magma forces the
overlying layers to rise up into a dome. A sill is similar to a dike with the exception that sills
run parallel to the existing rock bed instead of cutting through it.

The composition of igneous rocks falls into four main categories. They are determined by
the amount of silica that the rocks contain. The four categories are acidic, intermediate,
basic, andultramafic. Acidic rocks have a high silica content (65% or more) along with a
relatively high amount of sodium and potassium. These rocks are composed of the minerals
quartz and feldspar. Rhyolite and granite are the two most common types of acidic rock.
Intermediate rocks contain between 53% and 65% silica. They also contain potassium and
plagioclase feldspar with a small amount of quartz. Diorite and Andesite are the two most
common types of intermediate rock.
Basic rocks are composed of less than 52% silica and a large amount of plagioclase feldspar
and very rarely quartz. The two most common types of basic rocks are basalts and gabbros.
Ultrabasic rocks are composed of less than 45% silica and contain no quartz or feldspar.
They are composed mainly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. The most common
ultrabasic rock is periodite. Periodite is a dark green, coarse-grained igneous rock that many
scientists believe is the main rock of the mantle.
Basalts are dark colored, fine-grained extrusive rock. The mineral grains are so fine that they
are impossible to distinguish with the naked eye or even a magnifying glass. They are the
most widespread of all the igneous rocks. Most basalts are volcanic in origin and were
formed by the rapid cooling and hardening of the lava flows. Some basalts are intrusive
having cooled inside the Earth's interior. 
Pumice is a very light colored, frothy volcanic rock. Pumice is formed from lava that is full of
gas. The lava is ejected and shot through the air during an eruption. As the lava hurtles
through the air it cools and the gases escape leaving the rock full of holes.
Pumice is so light that it actually floats on water. Huge pumice blocks have been seen
floating on the ocean after large eruptions. Some lava blocks are large enough to carry small
animals.
Pumice is ground up and used today in soaps, abrasive cleansers, and also in polishes.
Rhyolite is very closely related to granite. The difference is rhyolite has much finer crystals.
These crystals are so small that they cannot be seen by the naked eye. Rhyolite is an
extrusive igneous rock having cooled much more rapidly than granite giving it a glassy
appearance. The minerals that make up rhyolite are quartz, feldspar, mica, and hornblende.
Gabbros are dark-colored, coarse-grained intrusive igneous rocks. They are very similar to
basalts in their mineral composition. They are composed mostly of the mineral plagioclase
feldspar with smaller amounts of pyroxene and olivine.

Obsidian is a very shiny natural volcanic glass. When obsidian breaks it fractures with a
distinct conchoidal fracture. Notice in the photo to the left how it fractures. Obsidian is
produced when lava cools very quickly. The lava cools so quickly that no crystals can form.
When people make glass they melt silica rocks like sand and quartz then cool it rapidly by
placing it in water. Obsidian is produced in nature in a similar way.
Obsidian is usually black or a very dark green, but it can also be found in an almost clear
form.
 Ancient people throughout the world have used obsidian for arrowheads, knives,
spearheads, and cutting tools of all kinds. Today obsidian is used as a scalpel by doctors in
very sensitive eye operations.

What are igneous rocks and minerals?

Igneous rocks (from the Greek word for fire) form from when hot, molten rock crystallizes
and solidifies. The melt originates deep within the Earth near active plate boundaries or hot
spots, then rises toward the surface. Igneous rocks are divided into two groups, intrusive or
extrusive, depending upon where the molten rock solidifies.
Intrusive Igneous Rocks:
Intrusive, or plutonic igneous rock forms when magma is trapped deep inside the Earth.
Great globs of molten rock rise toward the surface. Some of the magma may feed volcanoes
on the Earth's surface, but most remains trapped below, where it cools very slowly over
many thousands or millions of years until it solidifies. Slow cooling means the individual
mineral grains have a very long time to grow, so they grow to a relatively large size. Intrusive
rocks have a coarse grained texture.
Extrusive Igneous Rocks:
Extrusive, or volcanic, igneous rock is produced when magma exits and cools outside of, or
very near the Earth's surface. These are the rocks that form at erupting volcanoes and
oozing fissures. The magma, called lava when molten rock erupts on the surface, cools and
solidifies almost instantly when it is exposed to the relatively cool temperature of the
atmosphere. Quick cooling means that mineral crystals don't have much time to grow, so
these rocks have a very fine-grained or even glassy texture. Hot gas bubbles are often
trapped in the quenched lava, forming a bubbly, vesicular texture. Pumice, obsidian,
and basalt are all extrusive igneous rocks.
Volcanic Eruptions:
When magma manages to migrate upward onto the surface, the result is volcanism (a
volcanic eruption). A volcano forms as molten rock and solidified volcanic debris are ejected
onto the surface and accumulate near the eruption site. In addition to rock material, large
quantities of water vapor and gases are vented from volcanoes. The release of pressure
during eruptions can produce ash clouds that may travel long distances.
Crystallization:
When magma cools in the subsurface it slowly forms rock through the process of
crystallization. The chemical and physical reactions that take place in cooling magma result
in the formation of interlocking mineral crystal grains (minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and
mica). The mineral grains (crystals) are of a visible size, giving the rock a crystalline texture.
Igneous Rock Classifications:
Igneous rocks are classified by the geologic environment where they formed from the
crystallization of molten material, and perhaps more importantly, by their mineral
composition. Intrusive igneous rocks (like granite or gabbro) typically display visible mineral
grains that are fairly easy to recognize with a little training. Extrusive rocks are more difficult
 to clearly identify because the mineral grains are typically invisible. However, the general
composition of an extrusive rock is reflected by its color and density characteristics. General
composition types include felsic (which is a mnemonic word derived from "feldspar" and
"silica"), and mafic (which means rich in magnesium and iron, Fe). Felsic rocks tend to be
light colored (white, pink, yellow), and are typically much less dense than mafic rocks that
are typically dark (gray, brown, or black).
Mineral Composition:
Rhyolite (a felsic extrusive rock) has the same mineral composition as granite (an intrusive
igneous rock) and is composed dominantly of the minerals potassium feldspar (K-spar),
quartz, and lesser amounts of plagioclase feldspar, mica, hornblende, and other minerals.
Likewise, basalt (a mafic extrusive rock) has the same mineral composition of the mafic
intrusive rock, gabbro. This generalized composition of felsic and mafic can be subdivided
into intermediate (between felsic and mafic composition), and ultramafic (rocks extremely
enriched in magnesium and iron). Rocks of intermediate composition include diorite
(intrusive) and andesite (the extrusive equivalent). Ultramafic rocks have special
significance, in that they probably are derived from the mantle. They are relatively unstable
on the Earth’s surface, and are typically metamorphosed. In nature and in simplistic
interpretation, igneous rocks that make up most continental crust typically have a felsic
composition (such as rhyolite and granite). The mafic rock basalt is the dominant rock type
that makes up most ocean crust. Rocks of intermediate composition are derived from the
mixing of continental and oceanic crust.
Batholiths and Other Plutons:
A body of rock formed from magma migrating and solidifying deep in the subsurface is
called a pluton or an igneous intrusion. Huge intrusions, covering areas greater than one
hundred square kilometers are called a batholith. Batholiths typically contain many separate
intrusions that form over a relatively long period of time. Other types of intrusions typically
form at shallower crustal depths; these include stocks, dikes, and sills. A stock is smaller
than a batholith and typically represents the subsurface passage that fed molten material to
a volcano or field of volcanoes over time. Sills and dikes are layers of igneous rock that
typically form along fault zones, fractures, or between and parallel to sedimentary layers. A
laccolith is a blister-shaped intrusion. Stocks, sills, dikes, laccoliths and other intrusions are
remnants of past igneous activity and are exposed at the surface long after erosion has
stripped away any ancient volcanoes and other overlying rocks and sediments that may
have existed in an area.

SOME IGNEOUS ROCKS and MINERALS

 
 Andesite -- extrusive igneous rock
 Basalt -- extrusive igneous rock
 Dacite -- extrusive igneous rock
 Diabase -- fine-textured igneous rock
 Diorite -- intrusive igneous rock
 Gabbro -- intrusive igneous rock
 Granite -- intrusive igneous rock
 Granodiorite -- intrusive igneous rock
 Obsidian -- volcanic glass
 Olivine -- silicate mineral
 Pegmatite -- intrusive igneous rock
 Peridotite -- ultramafic intrusive igneous rock
 Pumice -- light, porous, volcanic rock
 Rhyolite -- extrusive igneous rock
 Tuff -- volcanic ash matrix