Igneous rock

Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ignis meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the
three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is
formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.

Geologic provinces of the world (USGS)

Shield
Platform
Orogen
Basin
Large igneous province
Extended crust
Oceanic crust:
0–20 Ma
20–65 Ma
>65 Ma
The magma can be derived from partial melts of 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. Solidification into rock
occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.
Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without
crystallization to form natural glasses.

Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms, orogens,
basins, large igneous provinces, extended crust and oceanic crust.

Volcanic eruptions of lava are major sources of igneous rocks. (Mayon volcano in the Philippines, erupting in 2009)

Natural columns of igneous rock separated from each other by columnar joints, in Madeira
Geological significance

Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90–95% of the top 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) of the
Earth's crust by volume.[1] Igneous rocks form about 15% of the Earth's current land
surface.[note 1] Most of the Earth's oceanic crust is made of igneous rock.

Igneous rocks are also geologically important because:

their minerals and global chemistry give information about the composition of the lower
crust or upper mantle from which their parent magma was extracted, and the temperature
and pressure conditions that allowed this extraction;[3]

their absolute ages can be obtained from various forms of radiometric dating and can be
compared to adjacent geological strata, thus permitting calibration of the geological time
scale;[4]

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

tectonic reconstructions (see plate tectonics);

in some special circumstances they host important mineral deposits (ores): for example,
tungsten, tin,[5] and uranium[6] are commonly associated with granites and diorites,
whereas ores of chromium and platinum are commonly associated with gabbros.[7]

Geological setting

Formation of igneous rock

Igneous rocks can be either intrusive (plutonic and hypabyssal) or extrusive (volcanic).
Intrusive

Basic types of intrusions:

1. Laccolith

2. Small dike

3. Batholith

4. Dike

5. Sill

6. Volcanic neck, pipe

7. Lopolith

Intrusive igneous rocks make up the majority of igneous rocks and are formed from magma
that cools and solidifies within the crust of a planet. Bodies of intrusive rock are known as
intrusions and are surrounded by pre-existing rock (called country rock). The country rock is
an excellent thermal insulator, so the magma cools slowly, and intrusive rocks are coarse-
grained (phaneritic). The mineral grains in such rocks can generally be identified with the
naked eye. Intrusions can be classified according to the shape and size of the intrusive body
and its relation to the bedding of the country rock into which it intrudes. Typical intrusive
bodies are batholiths, stocks, laccoliths, sills and dikes. Common intrusive rocks are granite,
gabbro, or diorite.

The central cores of major mountain ranges consist of intrusive igneous rocks. When
exposed by erosion, these cores (called batholiths) may occupy huge areas of the Earth's
surface.

Intrusive igneous rocks that form at depth within the crust are termed plutonic (or abyssal)
rocks and are usually coarse-grained. Intrusive igneous rocks that form near the surface are
termed subvolcanic or hypabyssal rocks and they are usually much finer-grained, often
resembling volcanic rock.[8] Hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic
rocks and often form dikes, sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, or phacoliths.

Extrusive

Extrusive igneous rock is made from lava released by volcanoes

Sample of basalt (an extrusive igneous rock), found in Massachusetts

Extrusive igneous rock, also known as volcanic rock, is formed by the cooling of molten
magma on the earth's surface. The magma, which is brought to the surface through fissures
or volcanic eruptions, rapidly solidifies. Hence such rocks are fine-grained (aphanitic) or even
glassy. Basalt is the most common extrusive igneous rock[9] and forms lava flows, lava
sheets and lava plateaus. Some kinds of basalt solidify to form long polygonal columns. The
Giant's Causeway in Antrim, Northern Ireland is an example.

The molten rock, which typically contains suspended crystals and dissolved gases, is called
magma.[10] It rises because it is less dense than the rock from which it was extracted.[11]
When magma reaches the surface, it is called lava.[12] 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.[13]

The volume of extrusive rock erupted annually by volcanoes varies with plate tectonic setting.
Extrusive rock is produced in the following proportions:[14]

divergent boundary: 73%

convergent boundary (subduction zone): 15%

hotspot: 12%.

The behaviour of lava depends upon its viscosity, which is 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 a
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 are
typically of limited extent and have steep margins because the magma is so viscous.[15]

Felsic and intermediate magmas that erupt often do so violently, with explosions driven by
the release of dissolved gases—typically water vapour, but also carbon dioxide. Explosively
erupted pyroclastic 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.[16]

Because volcanic rocks are mostly fine-grained or glassy, 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. Although
classification by mineral makeup is preferred by the IUGS, this is often impractical, and
chemical classification is done instead using the TAS classification.[17]
Classification

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

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 igneous rocks can provide 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 on 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, but include
carbonatites, which contain essential carbonates.[17]

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 that 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.

Igneous rocks are classified 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.

Texture

Gabbro specimen showing phaneritic texture, from Rock Creek Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada, California

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 simple lava. 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 also tend to be less texturally varied and less prone to showing distinctive
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. Mineralogical classification is most often used 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".
Basic classification scheme for igneous rocks based on their mineral composition. 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, yet in most cases it
is a good first guess.

Mineralogical classification

The IUGS recommends classifying igneous rocks by their mineral composition whenever
possible. This is straightforward for coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, but may require
examination of thin sections under a microscope for fine-grained volcanic rock, and may be
impossible for glassy volcanic rock. The rock must then be classified chemically.[18]

Mineralogical classification of an intrusive rock begins by determining if the rock is

ultramafic, a carbonatite, or a lamprophyre. An ultramafic rock contains more than 90% of
iron- and magnesium-rich minerals such as hornblende, pyroxene, or olivine, and such rocks
have their own classification scheme. Likewise, rocks containing more than 50% carbonate
minerals are classified as carbonatites, while lamprophyres are rare ultrapotassic rocks. Both
are further classified based on detailed mineralogy.[19]

In the great majority of cases, the rock has a more typical mineral composition, with
significant quartz, feldspars, or feldspathoids. Classification is based on the percentages of
quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and feldspathoid out of the total fraction of the rock
composed of these minerals, ignoring all other minerals present. These percentages place
the rock somewhere on the QAPF diagram, which often immediately determines the rock
type. In a few cases, such as the diorite-gabbro-anorthite field, additional mineralogical
criteria must be applied to determine the final classification.[19]
Where the mineralogy of an volcanic rock can be determined, it is classified using the same
procedure, but with a modified QAPF diagram whose fields correspond to volcanic rock
types.[19]

Chemical classification and petrology

Total alkali versus silica classification scheme (TAS) as proposed in Le Maitre's 2002 Igneous Rocks – A classification
and glossary of terms[20] Blue area is roughly where alkaline rocks plot; yellow area is where subalkaline rocks plot.

When it is impractical to classify a volcanic rock by mineralogy, the rock must be classified
chemically.

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 that 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" is typically 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 1,000 ppm. The diversity of rock
compositions has been defined by a huge mass of analytical data—over 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).

The single most important component is silica, SiO2, whether occurring as quartz or
combined with other oxides as feldspars or other minerals. Both intrusive and volcanic rocks
are grouped chemically by total silica content into broad categories.

Felsic rocks have the highest content of silica, and are predominantly composed of the
felsic minerals quartz and feldspar. These rocks (granite, rhyolite) are usually light coloured,
and have a relatively low density.

Intermediate rocks have a moderate content of silica, and are predominantly composed of
feldspars. These rocks (diorite, andesite) are typically darker in colour than felsic rocks and
somewhat more dense.

Mafic rocks have a relatively low silica content and are composed mostly of pyroxenes,
olivines and calcic plagioclase. These rocks (basalt, gabbro) are usually dark coloured, and
have a higher density than felsic rocks.

Ultramafic rock is very low in silica, with more than 90% of mafic minerals (komatiite,
dunite).

This classification is summarized in the following table:

Composition

Felsic Intermediate Mafic Ultramafic

Mode of occurrence
(>63% SiO2) (52% to 63% SiO2) (45% to 52% SiO2) (<45% SiO2)

Intrusive Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite

Extrusive Rhyolite Andesite Basalt Komatiite

The percentage of alkali metal oxides (Na2O plus K2O) is second only to silica in its
importance for chemically classifying volcanic rock. The silica and alkali metal oxide
percentages are used to place volcanic rock on the TAS diagram, which is sufficient to
immediately classify most volcanic rocks. Rocks in some fields, such as the trachyandesite
field, are further classified by the ratio of potassium to sodium (so that potassic
trachyandesites are latites and sodic trachyandesites are benmoreites). Some of the more
mafic fields are further subdivided or defined by normative mineralogy, in which an idealized
mineral composition is calculated for the rock based on its chemical composition. For
example, basanite is distinguished from tephrite by having a high normative olivine content.

Other refinements to the basic TAS classification include:

 Ultrapotassic – rocks containing molar K2O/Na2O >3.

Peralkaline – rocks containing molar (K2O + Na2O)/Al2O3 >1.[21]

Peraluminous – rocks containing molar (K2O + Na2O + CaO)/Al2O3 <1.[21]

In older terminology, silica oversaturated rocks were called silicic or acidic where the SiO2
was greater than 66% and the family term quartzolite was applied to the most silicic. A
normative feldspathoid classifies a rock as silica-undersaturated; an example is nephelinite.

AFM ternary diagram showing the relative proportions of Na2O + K2O (A for Alkali earth metals), FeO + Fe2O3 (F), and
MgO (M) with arrows showing the path of chemical variation in tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series magmas

Magmas are further divided into three series:

The tholeiitic series – basaltic andesites and andesites.

The calc-alkaline series – andesites.

The alkaline series – subgroups of alkaline basalts and the rare, very high potassium-
bearing (i.e. shoshonitic) lavas.

The alkaline series is distinguishable from the other two on the TAS diagram, being higher in
total alkali oxides for a given silica content, but the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline series occupy
approximately the same part of the TAS diagram. They are distinguished by comparing total
alkali with iron and magnesium content.[22]

These three magma series occur in a range of plate tectonic settings. Tholeiitic magma
series rocks are found, for example, at mid-ocean ridges, back-arc basins, oceanic islands
formed by hotspots, island arcs and continental large igneous provinces.[23]
All three series are found in relatively close proximity to each other at subduction zones
where their distribution is related to depth and the age of the subduction zone. The tholeiitic
magma series is well represented above young subduction zones formed by magma from
relatively shallow depth. The calc-alkaline and alkaline series are seen in mature subduction
zones, and are related to magma of greater depths. Andesite and basaltic andesite are the
most abundant volcanic rock in island arc which is indicative of the calc-alkaline magmas.
Some island arcs have distributed volcanic series as can be seen in the Japanese island arc
system where the volcanic rocks change from tholeiite—calc-alkaline—alkaline with
increasing distance from the trench.[24][25]

History of classification

Some igneous rock names date to before the modern era of geology. For example, basalt as a
description of a particular composition of lava-derived rock dates to Georgius Agricola in
1546 in his work De Natura Fossilium.[26] The word granite goes back at least to the 1640s
and is derived either from French granit or Italian granito, meaning simply "granulate rock".[27]
The term rhyolite was introduced in 1860 by the German traveler and geologist Ferdinand von
Richthofen[28][29][30] The naming of new rock types accelerated in the 19th century and
peaked in the early 20th century.[31]

Much of the early classification of igneous rocks was based on the geological age and
occurrence of the rocks. However, in 1902, the American petrologists Charles Whitman
Cross, Joseph P. Iddings, Louis V. Pirsson, and Henry Stephens Washington 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,
much of the existing terminology was and argued that as the chemical composition of an
igneous rock was its most fundamental characteristic, it should be elevated to prime
position.[32][33]

Geological occurrence, structure, mineralogical constitution—the hitherto accepted criteria

for the discrimination of rock species—were 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.[32] This
new classification scheme created a sensation, but was criticized for its lack of utility in
fieldwork, and the classification scheme was abandoned by the 1960s. However, the concept
of normative mineralogy has endured, and the work of Cross and his coinvestigators inspired
a flurry of new classification schemes.[34]
Among these was the classification scheme of M.A. Peacock, which divided igneous rocks
into four series: the alkalic, the alkali-calcic, the calc-alkali, and the calcic series.[35] His
definition of the alkali series, and the term calc-alkali, continue in use as part of the widely
used[36] Irvine-Barager classification,[37] along with W.Q. Kennedy's tholeiitic series.[38]

By 1958, there were some 12 separate classification schemes and at least 1637 rock type
names in use. In that year, Albert Streckeisen wrote a review article on igneous rock
classification that ultimately led to the formation of the IUGG Subcommission of the
Systematics of Igneous Rocks. By 1989 a single system of classification had been agreed
upon, which was further revised in 2005. The number of recommended rock names was
reduced to 316. These included a number of new names promulgated by the
Subcommission.[31]

Origin of magmas

The Earth's crust averages about 35 kilometres (22 mi) thick under the continents, but
averages only some 7–10 kilometres (4.3–6.2 mi) beneath the oceans. The continental crust
is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks resting on a 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 a meteorite impact, are less important today, but
impacts during the accretion of the Earth led to extensive melting, and the outer several
hundred kilometers of our early Earth was probably an ocean of magma. Impacts of large
meteorites in the last few hundred million years have been proposed as one mechanism
responsible for the extensive basalt magmatism of several large igneous provinces.

Decompression

Decompression melting occurs because of a decrease in pressure.[39]

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 the convection of solid mantle, it will cool slightly as it expands in an
adiabatic process, but the cooling is only about 0.3 °C per kilometer. Experimental studies of
appropriate peridotite samples document that the solidus temperatures increase by 3 °C to
4 °C 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 the
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").[40]

Effects of water and carbon dioxide

The change of rock composition most responsible for the 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 800 °C in the presence of
excess water, but near or above about 1,500 °C in the absence of water.[41] Water is driven out
of the oceanic lithosphere in subduction zones, and it causes melting in the overlying mantle.
Hydrous magmas composed of basalt and andesite 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 the continental crust.

The addition of carbon dioxide is relatively a much less important cause of magma formation
than the 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 200 °C 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 450 °C to 600 °C lower than for the same
composition with no carbon dioxide.[42] 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.

Temperature increase

Increase in 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 1,000 kilometers within the middle crust along the southern margin of
the Tibetan Plateau.[43] Granite and rhyolite are types of igneous rock commonly interpreted
as products of the melting of continental crust because of increases in temperature.
Temperature increases also may contribute to the melting of lithosphere dragged down in a
subduction zone.

Magma evolution

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

Most magmas are fully melted only 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 the 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 1,200 °C, and the derivative
granite-composition melt may have a liquidus temperature as low as about 700 °C.
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. Clinopyroxene thermobarometry is used to determine
temperature and pressure conditions at which magma differentiation occurred for specific
igneous rocks.

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.

Etymology

The word igneous rock means composed of fire. and is derived from the Latin root words of
igni-,[44] meaning fire, and -eous[45] meaning composed of.

The word volcanic rock is derived from the Latin root words of Vulcan,[46] the Roman the
god of fire, and -ic,[47] meaning having some characteristics of.

The word plutonic rock, another name for intrusive igneous rock, is derived from the Latin
root words of Pluto,[48] the Roman god of the underworld, and -ic,[49] meaning having some
characteristics of.

Gallery
 Kanaga volcano in the Aleutian Islands with a 1906 lava flow in the foreground

A "skylight" hole, about 6 m (20 ft) across, in a solidified lava crust reveals molten lava below
(flowing towards the top right) in an eruption of Kīlauea in Hawaii

Devils Tower, an eroded laccolith in the Black Hills of Wyoming

A cascade of molten lava flowing into Aloi Crater during the 1969-1971 Mauna Ulu eruption of
Kilauea volcano

Columnar jointing in the Alcantara Gorge, Sicily

 A laccolith of granite (light-coloured) that was intruded into older sedimentary rocks (dark-
coloured) at Cuernos del Paine, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

An igneous intrusion cut by a pegmatite dike, which in turn is cut by a dolerite dike

See also

List of rock types – List of rock types recognized by geologists

Metamorphic rock – Rock that was subjected to heat and pressure

Migmatite – Mixture of metamorphic rock and igneous rock

Petrology – Branch of geology that studies the formation, composition, distribution and
structure of rocks

Sedimentary rock – Rock formed by the deposition and subsequent cementation of

material

Notes
 1. 15% is the arithmetic sum of the area for intrusive plutonic rock (7%) plus the area for extrusive
volcanic rock (8%).[2]

References

1. Prothero, Donald R.; Schwab, Fred (2004). Sedimentary geology : an introduction to sedimentary
rocks and stratigraphy (2nd ed.). New York: Freeman. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7167-3905-0.

2. Wilkinson, Bruce H.; McElroy, Brandon J.; Kesler, Stephen E.; Peters, Shanan E.; Rothman, Edward D.
(2008). "Global geologic maps are tectonic speedometers—Rates of rock cycling from area-age
frequencies" (http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/121/5-6/760.abstract) . Geological Society of
America Bulletin. 121 (5–6): 760–779. Bibcode:2009GSAB..121..760W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.ed
u/abs/2009GSAB..121..760W) . doi:10.1130/B26457.1 (https://doi.org/10.1130%2FB26457.1) .

3. Philpotts, Anthony R.; Ague, Jay J. (2009). Principles of igneous and metamorphic petrology
(2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 356–361. ISBN 978-0-521-88006-0.

4. Philpott & Ague 2009, p. 295.

5. Heinrich, Christoph A. (1 May 1990). "The chemistry of hydrothermal tin(-tungsten) ore deposition".
Economic Geology. 85 (3): 457–481. doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.85.3.457 (https://doi.org/10.2113%2Fg
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