PRESENTATION OF ROCK

Group 3
Ngimron Asyrofi (14) Novaldi Yahya A.G (15) Novrian Galih P. (16) Umiyatun Kha. (27)

What we will present :  Identification of Igneous Rock  Granitic Rocks  Dioritic Rocks  Gabbroic Rocks  Conclusion

Identification of Igneous Rock

Texture and mineral composition are the most useful properties for inferring the origin of igneous rocks and are the basis for classification and identification. Although there are scores of minor igneous rock types, these represent variations of the relatively few major groups. In a widely used simple scheme, there are ten groups of crystalline igneous rocks : granite, granodiorite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite, rhyolite, dacite, andesite, basalt, and ultramafic extrusive.

In order to identify rocks in each of these groups, it is necessary to recognize texture and a few of the mineral constituents as they appear in the rock itself. To better identify the more common minerals, hold the rock in strong light and turn it back and forth so that you can see reflections from cleavage planes and crystal faces, Quartz can be recognized by its glassy appearance and mostly irregular reflecting surfaces. Feldspars show cleavage faces, may be white, gray, or pink and often have rectangular outlines. One can often identify the feldspar as plagioclase by thin parallel striations that develop on one cleavage face. Ferromagnesians, hornblende is more shiny and elongated than augite, and biotite may be distinguished by its smooth gleaming cleavage surfaces.

The light-colored igneous rocks are, as we have already noted, derived from high-silica magmas. When such magmas crystallize, they yield a high proportion of orthoclase feldspar and quartz. Granite is a familiar representative of this group and is recognized by its light color, phaneritic texture, and the presence of about 25 per cent quartz grains along with larger quantities of potassium feldspar (orthoclase) and sodium plagioclase. Muscovite and biotite are represent, as are small quantities of hornblende. Granite, of course, is well known to most of us because it has been used for centuries in the construction of buildings, statues, and monuments. It is not, however, the most abundant granitic rock.

Granodiorite, a somewhat less siliceous granitic rock, is more abundant. The igneous rocks of the Sierra Nevada are composed largely of granodiorite, the fine-grained equivalentof grandiorite is dacite. The more finely crystalline but compositional equivalent if granite is rhyolite. Actually, the basic aphanitic texture of rhyolite may range into the glassy condition. Many rhyolites of orthoclase, sodic plagioclase, quartz, and mica. Some appear to be welded tuffs ( a rock formed of small, hot volcanic particles that have been indurated by heat). In color, rhyolites tend to be white, light gray, pink, or orange.

Igneous rocks of the diorite clan include diorite itself and its aphanitic equivalent known as andesite. Diorite is a coarse to finegrained phaneritic rock containing less silica than granite or granodiorite but more than gabbro. Thus, in the gradations of composition across the rock chart, it is an intermediate rock type. The most abundant minerals are plagioclases, and these are compositionally in the mid range and contain both calcium and sodium.

Quartz and orthoclase are very rare or absent in diorites. Among the ferromagnesian constituents, hornblende occurs in amounts about equal to plagioclase, and biotite mica is a common accessory mineral. The color of diorite is controlled by its compositional makeup of nearly equal amounts of black ferromagnesians and grayish plagioclase. Thus, it tends to be rather drab gray or greenish gray in color. The somber color of diorite prevails also in andesite-its aphanitic equivalent. Andesites, which were first identified in the summit volcanoes of the Andes Mountains of South America, are mostly found along the more mountainous continental borders and island arcs that surround the Pacific Ocean. Andesites are intermediate between basalts and rhyolites in composition and also intermediate in relative abundance on the earth s surface.

In gabbro, the chief mineral is calcium plagioclase, which is darker and more calcium-rich than the plagioclase found in diorite. The typical ferromagnesian constituents are pyroxenes and olivine. Gabbros are typically coarsely crystalline plutonic rocks. One variety called anorthosite is composed mostly of intergrown calcium rich plagioclase crystals. Anorthosite is characteristic of the lighter-colored crustal areas of the moon. Varieties of gabbro are frequently polished and used as ornamental stone because of their rich dark hue and the iridescent play of colors reflected by the plagioclase crystals.

Basalts is the aphanetic equivalent of gabbro and is the most abundant extrusive igneous rock. Basalts are mostly black or very dark grey and therefore darker than andesites. In thin section, they are found to contain myriads of elongate lathlike crystals of calcic plagioclase interspersed with pyroxene and olivine. Biotite and hornblende, which are common minerals in andesite, are sparse or absent in basalt.

Conclusion
The progression from light-colored (high silica) to dark-colored (low silica) phaneritic igneous rocks is granite, diorite, gabbro, and peridotite.

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