The Igneous Rock Granite Intermediate

Of the hundreds of named igneous rocks consider the three rocks granite andesite and basalt.

The igneous rock granite intermediate.

Intermediate rocks are roughly even mixtures of felsic minerals mainly plagioclase and mafic minerals mainly hornblende pyroxene. Acidic rocks such as granite microgranite and rhyolite are rich in silica and contain the minerals quartz feldspar and biotite among others. Andesite magma is characterized by intermediate temperatures and viscosities resulting in both passive lava and violent pyroclastic eruptive styles. Ultramafic rocks are dominated by olivine and or pyroxene.

Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of molten rock material. Typical intermediate rocks include andesite dacite and trachyandesite among volcanic rocks and diorite and granodiorite among plutonic rocks. Each has a different composition according to where its magma collected. Granodiorite is a plutonic igneous rock formed by intrusion of silica rich magma which cools in batholiths or stocks below the earth s surface.

Acidic intermediate or basic depending on the amount of the elements of silica sio 2 they contain. What are igneous rocks. There are two basic types. Intrusive igneous rocks crystallize below earth s surface and the slow cooling that occurs there allows large crystals to form.

Andesite is an extrusive volcanic rock with a composition that is intermediate between basalt and rhyolite. Igneous rock any of various crystalline or glassy rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of molten earth material igneous rocks constitute one of the three principal classes of rocks the others being metamorphic and sedimentary. In igneous petrology an intermediate composition refers to the chemical composition of a rock that has 52 63 wt sio 2 being an intermediate between felsic and mafic compositions. Mafic rocks are dominated by plagioclase and pyroxene even if you can t see them with the naked eye and smaller amounts of olivine.

Examples of intrusive igneous rocks are diabase diorite gabbro granite pegmatite and peridotite. Igneous rocks are classified according to their mineral content. Igneous rocks are formed from the solidification of magma which is a hot 600 to 1 300 c or 1 100 to 2 400 f molten or partially molten rock material. Granite is used by the public as a catchall name for any light colored coarse grained igneous rock.

The type of igneous rock determined by its mineral composition can be gauged from its relative darkness. Granite is a type of igneous rock that consists of quartz gray plagioclase feldspar white and alkali feldspar beige plus dark minerals such as biotite and hornblende.