MODULE CODE: GEOL - 214

IGNEOUS PETROLOGY
COURSE OUTLINE

1. Introduction
2. The Structure of the Earth
3. Igneous Rock Types
4. Classification of Igneous Rocks
5. Igneous Environment
6. Igneous Intrusions
7. Types of Extrusions
8. Methods of Emplacement of Igneous Rocks
9. Minerals of Igneous Rocks
10. Igneous Textures and Structures
11. Phase Equilibria
12. Bowen’s Reaction Series
13. Basalt Family

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INTRODUCTION
The word petrology comes from the Greek work “Petra” meaning rock, and “logos” meaning
discussion or explanation.
Igneous petrology is therefore defined as the field of geology in which the objective of study is
igneous rock and the processes/conditions by which they are formed. E.g. Basalt, granite etc.
The purpose of studying igneous petrology is to gain an appreciation in the final appearance and
characteristic of igneous rocks controlled by the chemical and physical properties of magma and
their surroundings.
Through geologic mapping and sample observations of igneous rocks collected with hammer and
viewed through a hand lens; a geologist can acquire wealth of clues about the origin of the rocks
by learning how to interpret these clues. Basic techniques of petrology include hand specimen
identification and field examination by means of hand lens, acid, hardness, colour etc.
Petrography is commonly a major component of laboratory work in the petrology course. In this
sub-field of petrology, the techniques of optical mineralogy are used in the microscopic
examination of ultra-thin-transparent slices of rocks mounted on glass slide. Microscopic
observation of rocks can give detailed information.

IGNEOUS ROCKS:
An igneous rock is defined as any crystalline or glassy rock formed directly from magma.
Igneous rocks are divided into two main categories; intrusive/plutonic and extrusive/volcanic
igneous rocks. Plutonic or intrusive rocks result when magma cools and crystallizes slowly
within the earth crust, while volcanic/extrusive rocks result from magma reaching the surface
either as lava or fragmental ejecta. When the molten rock is in the mantle, it is called magma;
when it is above the crust, it is called lava. Intrusive igneous rocks usually take thousand years to
cool whereas extrusive igneous rock takes only a few days or weeks to cool and solidify.

MAGMA: Magma is a fluid substance that is essentially silicate melt usually at high
temperatures (500oC-1000oC) or molten rock that is chemically complex and contains the
molecular building blocks of minerals. This magma can be derived from the partial melting of
pre-existing rocks in either the earth mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or
more of the following processes, an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure or a change in
composition.
As magma cools and crystallizes, it re-organizes itself into igneous minerals that individually
have simpler chemistry than the parent magma. In any given igneous rock, these individual
minerals (e.g. quartz, feldspars) occur as small or large crystals, both with variable perfection of
crystal form.
The minerals found in igneous rocks and their character depends on:
a) The composition of the original magma.
b) The rate at which the magma cools
c) The depth in the earth at which it solidified.
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The range of product is enormous; from glassy obsidians, which are volcanic rocks that cooled
so rapidly that no crystals could form; to pegmatite’s which can contain individual crystals up to
a meter or more in size.

IMPORTANCE/SIGNIFICANCE OF IGNEOUS PETROLOGY

Rocks are the stuff of which the earth is made of leaving aside the atmosphere and hydrosphere.
Igneous rocks make up approximately 95% of the upper part of the earth crust, but their great
abundance is hidden on the earth’s surface by a relatively thin but widespread layer of
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
 The study of these rocks is the only source of all our ideas about the history of the earth.
 Knowledge about these rocks, their origin and ages and their distribution will contribute
to the solution of wide variety of problems that are of geological interest.
Some of the geological importance of igneous rocks are as follows:
 Their minerals and global chemistry give information about the composition of the
mantle, from where some igneous rocks are extracted and the temperature and pressure
conditions that allowed this extraction and/or of other pre-existing rocks that melted.
 Their absolute ages can be obtained from various forms of radiometric dating and thus
can be compared to adjacent geological strata, allowing a time sequence of events.
 Their features are usually characteristics of a specific tectonic environment, allowing
tectonic reconstitutions.
 In some special circumstances, they host important mineral deposits (ores); for example:
Tungsten, tin and uranium are commonly associated with granites, whereas ores of
chromium and platinum are commonly associated with gabbros.

CRITERIA USED TO DETERMINE WHETHER A ROCK IS AN IGNEOUS ROCK

o Field Criteria: (Cross Cutting) – Intrusive igneous bodies commonly cross cut a
country rock into which they intrude, thereby truncating external structures such as
bedding or foliation.

o Textural Criteria: By observing igneous rocks under petrographic microscope, specific

interlocking texture which result from slow crystallization of a melt have been associated
with igneous rocks.

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STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF THE EARTH
Virtually all igneous rocks originate by melting of materials at some depth within the earth. If
these rock have an initial origin from depth in the earth, it follows that we need to know what the
earth is composed of and its structure.
Although the earth interior lies just below us, its accessibility to direct observation is very
limited, even though volcanic activities can be considered as a window passage to know about
the earth interior because materials are brought up from below.
More importantly, many clues to the physical condition of our planet have been obtained through
the study of seismic waves generated by earthquakes and nuclear explosions. As seismic waves
passes through the earth, they carry information about the materials through which they are
transmitted to the surface. Hence they are carefully analyzed; seismic records provide an X-ray
picture of the earth interior.

NATURE OF SEISMIC WAVES

In order to properly examine the earth’s composition and structure, some of the basic properties
of wave transmition and propagation must be best studied.
1. The velocity of seismic waves depends upon the density and elasticity of the intervening
materials. They travel most rapidly in rigid materials. E.g. A crystalline rock could transmit
seismic waves more rapidly than a layer of unconsolidated materials
2. Within a given layer the speed of seismic waves generally increases with depth because
pressure increase and squeezes the rock into a more compact elastic layer.

3. P-waves which oscillate back and forward in the same direction as the direction of motion
travel through solid as well as liquids because when compressed, these materials will behave
like elastics.
4. In all materials, P-waves travel faster than S-waves.

5. When seismic waves travel from one material to another, the wave energy is refracted.
Seismologist concluded that the earth must be composed of distinct layer/shells of varying
composition and structure.
Based upon seismological data, the earth has been divided into three major layers:

a) A thin outer layer called the CRUST

b) THE MANTLE: A rocky layer located just below the crust and has a maximum
thickness of 2, 885km

c) THE CORE: This is divided into two: The outer core which is a layer of about 2270km
thick that exhibit or characteristic of a mobile liquid; and the inner core, a solid metallic
sphere about 121km in radius.

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 DIAGRAM

THE CRUST

The crust is the thinnest layer encountered. However, along this thin layer, great variation in rock
composition and thickness exist. This layer extend from the surface down to a depth of about 30-
40km. in few exceptional area like mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, the crust attains its
thickness exceeding 60km. the crust is solid and can also be divided into two layers:

a) The upper/continental crust

b) The lower/oceanic crust

The boundary between the upper and lower crust is known as Conrad discontinuity.

The upper crust is considered to be acidic in composition. It is largely made up of acid rock-rich
in feldspars and quartz. Dominant elements are Si and Al, hence referred to as the SiAl or SiAlic
layer.The SiAlic layer is chemically homogeneous and it shows chemical heterogeneity
especially within the granite family. The upper crust is granitic in composition.

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The lower crust on the other hand is made up of mafic minerals (basic in composition). It consist
mainly silicon and magnesium (SiMa). On the ocean floor there is a superficial layer of
sediment. The oceanic layers is basaltic in composition which is different from the rocks which
comprise the continents.

THE MANTLE
The boundary between the crust and the mantle is known as the Mohorovicic discontinuity.
Over 80% of the earth volume is contained within the mantle, a 2885km thick shell of rocks
extending from the base of the crust to the liquid outer core. The mantle is divided into two
layers:

a) Upper Mantle
b) Lower Mantle

There are enough evidences to suggest that the mantle is ultra-mafic in composition. For
example, the rock comprising kimberlite pipes in which diamonds are found or thought to have
originated at a depth of about 3200km. this kimberlitic deposit are composed of peridotite; a rock
that contain Fe and Mg rich minerals, mainly olivine and pyroxene and less amount of garnet.
Furthermore, because the S-waves are rapidly propagated through the mantle, hence it can be
concluded that it behaves like an elastic solid. It is composed of red hot rocks, which are under
extreme pressure unknown to the surface of the earth and exhibit the ability to flow.
One of the most significant regions of the mantle is located 100-250km called the lower velocity
zone. Hence P and S-waves show a marked decrease in velocity. This is because of the existence
of molten rock. The discovery of low velocity zone suggest a proposal made earlier that a zone
of weak rock exist blow 100km. this region of weak material is called the Asthenosphere (zone
of partial melting).

THE CORE
This is the region entirely downward. The core-mantle boundary is referred to as the Weichert
Gutemberg Discontinuity. The core have a radius of about 3468km. the core constitute 1/6th of
the earth volume and nearly 1/3rd of the earth total mass. Pressure at the centre is million times
greater than atmospheric pressure and temperature of about 3000oC-6000oC. The outer cores
constitute a liquid fluid of about 2270km and solid inner portion with radius 1216km.

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DESCRIPTION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS (IGNEOUS ROCK TYPES)

ANDESITE
Andesite is an igneous volcanic rock, intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic
texture. The mineral assembly typically is dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or
hornblende. Biotite, quartz and iron titanium oxide are common accessory minerals. Alkali
feldspars may be present in minor amount.
The quartz-feldspar abundances in andesite and other volcanic rocks are illustrated in the QAPF
diagrams. Relative alkali and silica contents are illustrated in TAS diagrams.

Classification of andesites may be refined according to the most abundant phenocryst. Example:
Olivine Andesite, if olivine is the principal accessory mineral.
Andesite can be considered as the extrusive equivalent to plutonic diorite. As diorites, they are
characteristic of subduction tectonic environments in active oceanic margins, such as the
Western Coast of South America. The name andesite is dirived from the Andes mountain ranges.

BASALT
Basalt is a common grey to black volcanic rock. It is usually fine grained due to rapid cooling of
lava on the earth’s surface.it may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine-matrix, or
vesicular. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.
Basalt magmas are formed by decompression melting of peridotite in the Earth’s mantle.. The
crustal portions of oceanic tectonic plates are comprised predominantly of basalt, produced from
upwelling peridotite in the mantle below ocean ridges.
The term basalt is at times applied to shallow intrusive rocks with a composition typical of
basalt, but rocks of this composition with a phaneritic (coarse) groundmass should generally be
referred to as dolerite (also called diabase) or gabbro.

Mineralogy
The mineralogy of basalt is characterized by a preponderance of calcic plagioclase feldspar and
pyroxene; olivine can also be a significant constituent. Accessory minerals present in relatively
minor amounts include iron and iron-titanium oxides, such as magnetite and ilmenite. Because of
the presence of such oxide minerals, basalt can acquire strong magnetic signatures as it cools,
and paleomagnetic studies have made extensive use if basalt.

Pillow Basalts
When basalt erupts underwater or flows into the sea, the cold water quenches the surface and the
lava forms a distinctive pillow shape, through which the hot lava breaks to form another pillow.
This pillow texture is very common in underwater basaltic flows and is diagnostic of an
underwater eruption environment when found in ancient rocks. Pillows typically consist of a

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fine-grained core with a glassy crust and have radial jointing. Size of individual pillows varies
from 10cm up to several meters.
When pahoehoe lava enters the sea it usually forms pillow basalt. However when A’A lava
enters the ocean it forms a littoral cone, a small cone-shaped accumulation of tuffaceous debris
form when the blocky a’a’ lava enters the water and explodes from built-up steam.

Glass may be present, particularly as rings on rapidly chilled surfaces of lava flows, and is
commonly (but not exclusively) associated with underwater eruptions.

DECITE
Decite is a high-silica igneous, volcanic rock. It is intermediate in composition between andesite
and rhyolite, and like andesite, it consists mostly of plagioclase feldspar with biotite, hornblende,
augite or enstatite.
It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture with quartz as rounded, corroded phenocrysts, or as an
element of the ground-mass. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite and in
many other volcanic rocks are illustrated in the QAPF diagram.
Dacite is also defined by silica and alkali contents in the TAS classification.
The plagioclase ranges from oligoclase to andesine and labradorite, and is often very zoned.
Sanidine occurs also in some dacite and when abundant gives rise to rocks that form transitions
to the rhyolites. The biotite is brown; the hornblende is brown or greenish brown; and the augite
is usually green.
The groundmass of these rocks is often microcrystalline, with a web of minute feldspars mixed
with interstitial grains of quartz (tridymite); but in many dacites, it is largely vitreous, while in
others it is cryptocrystalline.
In hand specimen many of the hornblende and biotite dacites are grey or pale brown and yellow
rocks with white feldspars, and black crystals of biotite and hornblende. Other dacites, especially
augite and enstatite dacites, are darker in colour.
The rocks of this group occur in Romania, Almeria (Spain), Argyll and other parts of Scotland,
Bardon Hill in Leicestershire, New Zealand, the Andes, Nevada and other districts of western
North America, Greece as well as other place. They are mostly associated with andesites and
trachytes, and form lava flows, dikes, and in some cases form massive intrusions in the centers of
volcanoes. Dacite is an important rock type at Mount St. Helens.
The word dacite comes from Dacia, a Roman province found between the Danube River and
Carpathian Mountains (now modern Romania) where the rock was first described.

DIABASE
Is a mafic, holocrystalline, igneous rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro.
Diabase normally has a fine, but visible texture of euhedral lath shaped plagioclase crystals set in

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a finer matrix of pyroxene, typically augite, minerals include hornblende, biotite, apatite,
pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, serpentine, chlorite, and calcite.

The texture is termed ophitic and is typical of diabases. The feldspar is high in anorthite (as
opposed to albite), the calcium end member of the plagioclase Anorthite-Albite solid solution
series, most commonly labradorite.
Diabase is usually found in smaller relatively shallow intrusive bodies such as dikes and sills.
Diabase dikes occur in regions of crustal extension and often occur in dike swarms of hundreds
of individual dikes or sills radiating from a single volcanic center.

The New Jersey Palisades of the Husdon River, near New York City, are an example of a
diabase sill. The dike complexes of the Hebridean Tertiary volcanic province which includes
Skye, rum, mull and Arran of Western Scotland, the Slieve Gullion contains many examples of
diabase dike swarms. Diabase is also called dolerite in many order references.

DIORITE
Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of
plagioclase feldspar (typically andesine), hornblende, and/or pyroxene. It can also be black or
bluish-grey, and frequently has a greenish cast. Varieties deficient in hornblende and other dark
minerals are called leucodiarite.

It is often described as ‘’salt and pepper’’ when composed largely of light-coloured minerals
randomly interspersed with dark minerals. When olivine and more iron-rich augite are present,
the rock grades into ferrodiorite, which is transitional to gabbro. The presence of quartz makes
the rock type quartz-diorite or tonalite, and if orthoclase (potassium feldspar) is present the rock
type grades into granodiorite.
Diorite may be associated with either granite or gabbro intrusions, into which they may subtly
merge. Diorite results from partial melting of a mafic rock above a subduction zone.
It is commonly produced in volcanic arcs, and in cordilleran mountain building (subduction
along the edge of a continent, such as with the Andes Mountains). It appears in thousands of
square miles of large batholiths (mass of intrusive igneous rock believed to have solidified deep
within the earth). The extrusive volcanic equivalent is andesite.

Diorite is an extremely hard rock, making it difficult to carve and work with. It is so hard that
ancient civilizations (such as ancient Egypt) used diorite balls to work granite. Its hardness,
however, also allows it to be worked finely and take a high polish, and to provide a durable
finished work. Thus, major works in diorite tend to be important.
In later times, Diorite was commonly used as cobblestone; today many diorite cobblestone
streets can be found in England (from the Isle of Guernsey) and Scotland, and scattered
throughout the world in such places as Ecuador and China.

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Although diorite is rough-textured in nature, its ability to take a polish can be seen in the diorite
steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, where centuries of foot traffic have polished the steps to a
sheen.

Diorite is a relatively rare rock; source localities include Sondrio, Italy, Thuringia and Sassonia
in Germany, England, Romania, Central Sweden, Scotland, the Andes Mountains, the Isle of
Guernsey, and the Basin and Range province and Minnesota in the USA.

DUNITE
It is an igneous, plutonic rock, ultramafic composition, with coarse grained or phaneritic texture.
The mineral assemblage is typically greater than 90% olivine with minor pyroxene and chromite.
Dunite is the olivine rich end member of the peridotite group of mantle derived rocks.

Dunite and other peridotite rocks are considered to represent the Earth’s mantle. Dunite is rarely
found within continental rocks, but where it is found, it typically occurs at the base of ophiolite
sequences where slabs of mantle rock from a subduction zone have been thrust into continental
crust by obduction during continental or island arc collisions (orogeny). Dunite typically
undergoes retrograde metamorphism in near surface environments and is altered to serpentinite.

Dunite was named by the Austrian geologist, Ferdinand Vonhochestter in 1859 after Dun
Mountain near Nelson, New Zealand. Dun Mountain was given its name because of the dun
colour of its vegetation which is itself a reflection of underlying ultramafic rocks. A massive
exposure of dunite in the United States can be found as the Twin Sisters Peaks, near Mt. Baker,
in the Northern Cascade Mountains of Washington State.

GABBRO
Gabbro is a dark, coarse-grained, intrusive igneous rock chemically equivalent to basalt. It is a
plutonic rock, formed when molten magma is trapped beneath the Earth’s surface and cools into
a crystalline mass.

Mineralogy
Gabbro is dense, greenish or dark-colour and contained varieties percentages of pyroxene,
plagioclase, amphibole, and olivine (olivine gabbro when olivine is present in large quantities);
the pyroxene is mostly clinopyroxene, small amounts of orthopyroxene may be present. If the
amount of orthopyroxen is substantially greater than the amount of clinopyroxene, the rock is
then a Norite. Quartz gabbros are also known to occur and are probably derived from magma
that was over-saturated with silica. On the other hand, essexites represent gabbros whose parent
magma was under-saturated with silica, resulting in the formation of nepheline. (Silica
saturation, of a rock can be evaluated by normative mineralogy). Gabbros contain minor
amounts, typically a few percent of iron-titanium oxides such as magnetite, ilmenite, and
ulvospinel.
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Gabbro is generally coarse grained, with crystals in the size range of 1mm or greater. Finer
grained equivalents of gabbro are called diabase, although the vernacular term microgabbro is
often used when extra descriptiveness is desired. Gabbro may be extremely coarse grained to
pegmatitic, and some pyroxene-plagioclase cumulates are essentially coarse grained gabbro,
although these may exhibit acicular crystal habits.
Gabbro is usually equigranular in texture, although it may be porphyritic at times, especially
when plagioclase has grown earlier than the groundmass minerals.

Distribution
Gabbro can be formed as a massive uniform intrusion or as part of a layered ultramafic intrusions
as a cumulate rock formed by settling of pyroxene and plagioclase. Cumulate gabbros are more
properly termed pyroxene-plagioclase cumulate.
Gabbro is an essential part of the oceanic crust, and can be found in many ophiolite complexes as
parts of zones III and IV (sheeted dyke zone to massive gabbro zone). Long belts of gabbroic
intrusions are typically formed around ancient rift zone margins, intruding into the rift flanks.

Uses
Gabbro often contains valuable amounts of chromium, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, platinum, and
copper sulfides.
Ocellar varieties of gabbro are often used as ornamental facing stones, paving stones and it is
also known by the trade name of ‘black granite’, which is a popular type of headstone used in
funerary rite.

GRANITE
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock.
Granites are usually a white, black or buff coloured and are medium to coarse grained,
occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as
porphyry (porphyritic texture). Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on
their chemistry and mineralogy.

Outcrops of granite tend to form rounded massifs, and terrains of rounded boulders cropping out
of flat, sandy soils. Granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of
hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels .Granite is nearly always massive, hard and
tough, and it is for this reason it has gained widespread use as a construction stone.
The average density of granite is 2.75 g.cm-3 with a range of 1.74 g.m-3 t0 2.80 g.cm-3.

The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the coarse-grained
structure of such a crystalline rock.
The term granite also applies to a group of intrusive igneous rocks with similar textures and
slight variation in composition and origin.

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These rocks mainly consist of feldspars (potassium feldspars), quartz, mica and amphibole
minerals which form interlocking, somewhat equigranular matrix of feldspar and quartz with
scattered darker biotite mica and amphibole (often hornblende) peppering the lighter colour
minerals.

Origin
Granite is an igneous rock and is formed from magma. Granitic magma has many potential
origins but it must intrude other rocks. Most granite intrusions are emplaced at depth within the
crust, usually greater than 1.5km and up to 50km depth within thick continental crust.
The origin of granite is contentious and has led to varied schemes of classification. Classification
schemes are regional; there is a French scheme, a British scheme and an Americans scheme. This
confusion arises because the classification schemes define granite by different means. Generally
the ‘alphabet-soup’ classification is used because it classifies based on genesis or origin of the
magma.

GRANODIORITE
Is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but contains more plagioclase than potassium
feldspar. It usually contains abundant biotite mica and hornblende, giving it a darker appearance
than true granite. Mica may be present in well-formed hexagonal crystals, and hornblende may
appear as needle-like crystals.
On average, the upper continental crust has the same composition as granodiorite.

MONZONITE
Is an intermediate igneous intrusive rock composed of approximately equal amounts of sodic to
intermediate plagioclase and orthoclase feldspars with minor amounts of hornblende, biotite and
other minerals. Quartz is a minor constituent or is absent; with greater than 10% quartz, the rock
is termed quartz monzonite.
If the rock has more orthoclase or potassium feldspar it grades into a syenite. With an increase of
calcic plagioclase and mafic minerals the rock type becomes a diorite. The volcanic equivalent is
Latite.

NORITE
It is a mafic intrusive igneous rock composed largely of the calcium rich plagioclase (labradorite)
and hypersthene with olivine. Norite is essentially undistinguishable from gabbro without thin
section study under the petrographic microscope.
It occurs with gabbro and other mafic to ultramafic rocks in layered intrusions which are often
associated with platinum ore bodies such as in South Africa, the skaergard complex of Greenland
and the Stillwater complex in Montana - USA. Norite is also the basal igneous rock of the

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Sudbury Basin complex in Ontario which is the site of a meteorite impact and the world’s largest
nickel mining region. Norite is a common rock type of the Apollo Lunar samples. On a smaller
scale Norite can be found in small localized formations such as the Gombak Norite in Bukit
Gombak, Singapore.

PHONOLITE
Phonolite, sometimes known as Clinkstone is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock, of
intermediate (between felsic and mafic) composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture.
Mineral assemblage is usually abundant feldspathoids and alkali feldspar, and lesser plagioclase,
as illustrated by the position of the field for phonolite in the QAPF diagram.
Biotite, amphibole and pyroxene are common accessory minerals.
Quartz is absent because alkalis are enriched relative to silica, as illustrated by the position of
phonolite in the TAS classification.
Phonolite is a fine-grained equivalent of nepheline syenite, and the genesis of such magmas is
discussed in the treatment of that rock type.

Some phonolite outcrops make a musical sound when struck; hence the name.

PUMICE
Pumice is a highly vesicular pyroclastic igneous rock of intermediate to siliceous magmas
including rhyolite, trachyte and phonolite. Pumice is usually light in colour ranging from white,
yellowish, grey, grey brown, and a dull red. It has an average porosity of 90%. Pumice is formed
as pyroclastic.
Material is ejected into the air as a froth containing masses of gas bubbles or vesicles, the lava
solidifies quickly and the vesicles are contained in the rock. The basaltic version of pumice is
known as Scoria and has many differences due to mineralogy. When a larger amount of gas is
present, the result is a finer-grained variety of pumice known as pumicite. Pumice is considered
a glass because it has no crystal structure.

PYROXENITE
Pyroxenite is an ultramafic igneous rock consisting essentially of minerals of the pyroxene
group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite. They are classified into
clinopyroxenites, orthopyroxenites and the websterites which contain both pyroxene.

Closely allied to this group are the hornblendites, consisting essentially of hornblende and other
amphiboles.
They are essentially of igneous origin, though some pyroxenites are included in the metamorphic
complex of the Lewisian of Scotland. The pyroxene-rich rocks which result from contact
metamorphism of impure limestone are described as pyroxene hornfels (cal-siliciate hornfels)

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QUARTZ DIORITE
Is an igneous, plutonic (intrusive) rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic texture. Feldspar is
present as plagioclase (typically oligoclase or andesine) with 10% or less potassium feldspar.
Quartz is present at between 5 to 20% of the rock. Biotite, amphiboles and pyroxenes are
common dark accessory minerals.

TONALITE
Is an igneous, plutonic (intrusive) rock, of felsic composition, with phaneritic texture. Feldspar is
present as plagioclase (typically oligoclase or andesine) with 10% or less alkali feldspar. Quartz
is present as more than 20% of the Rock. Amphiboles and pyroxenes are common accessory
minerals.
In older references, tonalite is sometimes used as a synonym` for quartz diorite. However, the
current IUGS classification defines tonalite as having greater than 20% quartz and quartz diorite
with from 5 to 20% quartz.

TRONDHJMITE
Is an orthoclase deficient variety of tonalite with minor biotite as the only mafic mineral, named
after Norway’s third largest city, Trondjheim.
It is a leucocratic (light-coloured) intrusive igneous rock.
Trondhjemite is common in Achaean terrane occurring in conjunction with tonalite and
granodiorite as the TTG (tonalite-tronhdjemite-granodiorite) ortho-gneiss suite.

TRACHYTE
Is an igneous, volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage is
predominately potassium feldspar with relatively minor plagioclase. Either quartz or a
feldspathoid such as nepheline may be a minor constituent, as shown by the defined position for
trachyte on the QAPF diagram. Biotite, clinopyroxene and scarce olivine are common accessory
minerals.
Chemically, trachyte contains less SiO2 than rhyolite and more (Na2O plus K2O) than dacite.
Trachytes usually consist mainly of sanidine (or orthoclase with a glassy appearance) feldspar.

Very often they have minute irregular steam cavities which make the broken surfaces of
specimens of these rocks rough and irregular, and from this character they have derived their
name.
Quartz is typically rare in trachyte, but tridymite (which likewise consists of silica) is by no
means uncommon. It is rarely in crystals large enough to be visible without the aid of the
microscope, but in thin sections it may appear as small hexagonal plates, which overlap and form
dense aggregates, like a mosaic or like the tiles on a roof.

14
The trachytes being very rich in potash feldspar necessarily contain considerable amounts of
alkali; in this character they approach the phonolites.

RHYOLITE
Rhyolite is an igneous volcanic (extrusive) rock of felsic (acidic) composition (typically > 69%
SiO2. It may have any texture from aphanitic to porphyritic.
The mineral assemblage is usually quartz, alkali feldspar and plagioclase. Biotite and pyroxene
are common accessory minerals.
Rhyolite is considered as the extrusive equivalent to the plutonic granite rock, due to their high
content of silica and low iron and magnesium contents. Rhyolites polymerize quickly and form
highly viscous lavas. They can also occur as breccias or in volcanic necks and dikes. Rhyolites
that cool too quickly to grow crystals form a natural glass or vitrophyre, also called obsidian.
Slower cooling forms microscopic crystals in the lava and results in textures such as flow
foliations, spherulitic and nodular structures.

SCORIA
Scoria is the vesicular ejecta of mafic to intermediate magmas such as basalt and andesite. Scoria
is generally dark, brownish black or red. Its specific gravity ranges from 0.8 to 2.1. Scoria is
generally thought of as the mafic version of pumice. It forms when magma that is rich in
dissolved gases is vented. It sometimes can float. As the magma encounters lower pressures, the
gases are able to escape and form vesicles.
These vesicles are trapped when the magma cools and solidifies. Vesicles are usually small,
spheroidal and do not impinge upon one another, instead they open into one another with little
distortion. Volcanic cones of Scoria can be left behind after eruptions, usually forming
mountains with a crater at the summit. An example is Mount Wellington, Auckland.

SYENITE
Syenite is a coarse grained intrusive igneous rock of the same general composition as granite but
with the quartz either absent or present in relatively small amounts (<5%).
The feldspar component of syenite is predominantly alkaline in Character (usually orthoclase).
Plagioclase feldspars may be present in small quantities, less than 10%.
When present, ferromagnesian minerals are usually hornblende - amphibole, rarely pyroxene or
biotite. Biotite is rare because in syenite magma most aluminium is used in producing feldspar.
Syenites are usually peralkaline and peraluminous, with high proportions of alkali elements and
aluminium.
Syenites are formed from alkaline igneous activity, generally formed in thick continental crustal
areas, or in cordilleran subduction zone.

To produce a syenite, it is necessary to melt a granitic or igneous protolith to a fairly low degree
of partial melting.

15
CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS
The classification of the many types of different igneous rocks can provide us with important
information about the conditions under which they formed. The ideal classification of igneous
rocks could be a genetic one. The most important one has been recognizing igneous rocks series
whose members range in composition from ultramafic, mafic to felsic; but all which may have
certain features in common.

As a result, igneous rocks are classified based on the following:

 Chemical composition
 Mode of occurrence
 Texture
 Mineralogy
 Silica content
 Colour index
 Chemical data analysis
 I.U.G.S Classification

1. BASED ON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Igneous rocks can be classified based on chemical composition into three groups;

a) Tholeiitic Igneous Rock Series: These are relatively rich in iron throughout and show a
varying degree of iron enrichment in the intermediate members. Typical tholeiitic rocks
include:Tholeiitic basalts, tholeiitic andesites, ferrodiorites, ferrogranites,
ferrogranodiorite, etc.

b) Calc-Alkaline Igneous Rocks Series: These are relatively poor in iron throughout. They
show little or no absolute iron enrichment in their intermediate members and are
generally richer in alumina than the rocks of the tholeiitic series. Examples include; calc-
alkaline basalts, andesites, dacites, rhyolites, certain gabbros, diorites, granodiorites and
granites.
c) Alkali Igneous Rock Series: These are very variable in character, some showing a rather
weak enrichment of iron in their intermediate members. But all are characterized by a
higher content of alkali for a given silica percentage than tholeiitic and calc-alkaline
series. Typical alkali rocks include; Alkali basalts, alkali gabbros, alkali monzonite and
more highly alkaline types such as bassanites, felsic types including phonolite, nepheline
syenites, etc.

16
2. BASED ON THEIR MODE OF OCCURRENCE

Igneous rocks can be classified based on their mode of occurrence into:

a) Extrusive/Volcanic Igneous Rocks: These are igneous rocks that are formed at the
surface of the earth. Eg: Basalts, rhyolite.

b) Shallow-seated Intrusives (Hyperbysal Rocks): These are igneous rocks that are
formed at shallow depth within the earth crust. E.g. dolerite/diabase.

c) Deep-seated Intrusives (Plutonic Rocks): These are coarse grained igneous rocks that
are formed at greater depth within the earth. Eg: Granite, gabbro.

3. BASED ON MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION

The mineralogical composition of igneous rocks may also be used in their classification. One
such classification is based on the actual amount of the various minerals present in a particular
rock (i.e. the mode). These minerals are referred to as the modal minerals.

In this classification, the mineralogical content is considered (felsic versus mafic). Igneous rocks
are classified based on the mineralogical content as follows:

a) Felsic Rocks: These are igneous rocks with predominance of quartz, feldspar and/or
feldspathoids (felsic minerals). These rocks (e.g. granites) are usually light colored and
have low density.
b) Mafic Rocks: These rocks have predominance of mafic minerals such as pyroxene,
olivine and calcium-plagioclase. These rocks (e.g. Basalt) are usually dark colored and
have higher density than felsic rocks.
c) Ultramafic Rocks: These are rocks with more than 90% of mafic minerals (e.g.: dunite,
pyroxenite)

4. BASED ON TEXTURE
Texture is an important criterion for the naming of volcanic rocks. The texture of volcanic rocks
including the size, orientation, shape, distribution of grains and the inter-grain relationship will
determine whether the rock is termed a tuff, pyroclastic lava or simple lava.
Textural criteria are less important in classifying intrusive rocks where the majority of minerals
will be visible to the unaided eyes or at least using a hand lens or microscope.

Plutonic rocks tend also to be less texturally varied and less prone to gaining textural fabrics.

17
5. BASED ON SILICA CONTENT
a) Acid Igneous Rocks: they have high silica content (SiO2 ˃63%). e.g.; granite, rhyolite.

b) Intermediate Igneous Rocks: contain between 52-63% SiO2 content. e.g.; Andesite

c) Basic Igneous Rocks: They have low silica content between 45-52% and typically high
iron – magnesium content. e.g.; Basalt.

d) Ultrabasic Igneous Rocks: Contains less than 45% SiO2. e.g.; Peridotite, dunite,
komatiite.

SIMPLE SUB-DIVISION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS ACCORDING TO BOTH THEIR

MODE OF OCCURRENCE AND SILICA CONTENT

MODE OF COMPOSITION/SILICA CONTENT

OCCURRENCE Acidic Intermediate Basic Ultrabasic
Intrusive Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite
Extrusive Rhyolite Andesite Basalt Komatiite

6. BASED ON COLOUR INDEX

The colour index is basically the proportion of light (felsic) and dark colour (mafic) minerals
present in a rock, expressed in percentage. Here the index is based on the dark mineral
constituents.
When the proportion (colour index) lies between 0-30%, the rock is described as leucocratic;
between 30-60% is mesocratic; between 60-90% is melanocratic; ˃90% is hyper-melanic

7. BASED ON CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

This classification is based on chemical analysis proposed by four American Petrologist; W.
Cross, J.P. Iddings, L.V. Pirson and H.W Washington. In essence it is referred to as the C.I.P.W.
Norm Classification. Their classification was by first analyzing the rock on the basis of their
oxides (e.g.; FeO, MgO). These rocks are converted into set of simple theoretical standard
minerals which are called the Normative Minerals. These are divided into two groups:

a) Salic Minerals: they include quartz, orthoclase, leusite, albite, anorthite, nepheline, etc.

b) Femic Minerals: Including diopside (calculated as its component- MgSiO3 FeSiO3,

CaSiO3); hypersthene (calculated as its components -MgSiO3, FeSiO2); Olivine
(Calculated as its component- Fe2SiO4, Mg2SiO4); Magnetite, ilmenite etc.

18
8. THE I.U.G.S. CLASSIFICATION (INTERNATIONAL UNION OF GEOLOGICAL
SCIENCES)
Overtime, a number of classification schemes have been applied to igneous rocks, resulting in
overlapping rock names. Due to this, the I.U.G.S. developed a standard and workable system of
igneous rocks nomenclature. The I.U.G.S. classification requires a system that will determine
three mineral components and plot their percentages on a triangular diagram to determine the
proper name of the rock.
In order to plot a point on a triangular diagram using particular value of X, Y and Z, the three
values most total 100%. If they do not, they must be normalized to 100%. This is done by
multiplying each of the values by the formula below:

100
X+Y+Z

For example: if X=9.0, Y=2.6, Z=1.3

X+Y+Z = 9.0+2.6+1.3= 12.9 ~ 13

If we want to normalize X. Y and Z means that:

X= 100 X 9.0 =70%

13
Y= 100 X 2.6= 20%
13
Z= 100 X 1.3 = 10%
13
The normalize values are denoted as:

X̅= 70%, Y̅= 20% and Z̅= 10%

The three components are plotted as shown below:

19
 X (100%)

Z= 10%
X=70%
Increasing y/decreasing X

Decreasing x/ increasing z
Decreasing z/ increasing x
Decreasing y/ increasing x

Y (100%) Z (100%)

Increasing z/decreasing y

Increasing y/decreasing z

Exercise
A phaneritic rock was analyzed and the following data were obtained: Q=37%, A= 14%, P=49%.
Plot the components and name the rock using the QAPF diagram.
To classify a rock using the IUGS system, the following procedures are used:
1. Determine the mode (Percentage of each mineral present within the rock based on
volume).
2. From the mode, determine the volume percentage of each of each of the following;
Ql= % of quartz
Pl = % of plagioclase (An-Ab100)
Al = % of alkali feldspar
Fl= % of feldsparthoids (foid)
Ml = % of mafic and accessory minerals
3. The majority of igneous rocks on the earth surface have at least a percentage of Ql+Al+Pl
or Fl+Al+Pl. If a rock to be classified have at least 10% of these constituents, we ignore
M and normalize the remaining parameters (i.e. Ql+Al+Plor Fl+Al+Pl) to 100%.
4. Determine whether the rock is phaneritic (Plutonic) or aphanitic (Volcanic).

20
5. To find the field on the classification chart to which the rock belongs, we first determine
the ratio: 100P and select the point along the horizontal
P+A
(PA) line that correspond to this ratio.
6. Proceed a distance corresponding to Ql or Fl towards the appropriate apex.

7. The resulting points representing Q:A:P or F:A:P should fall within one of the label sub-
field, which gives the name of the rock.

21
 PHANERITIC IGNEOUS ROCKS
Q

Quartz-rich
granitoids
60

Alkali feldspar granite

Granodiorite

Tonalite
Quartz alkali Granite Quartz diorite
feldspar syenite Quartz gabbro
90
20 10 35 65
5 Diorite
Quartz Quartz Quartz Gabbro
Alkali syenite monzonite monzodiorite Norite
feldspar 5 Anorthosite
syenite
Syenite Monzonite Monzodiorite
A
P
Fold-bearing syenite Foid- bearing Foid-bearing
monzonite diorite
Foid-bearing diorite
Fold-bearing 10 Foid-bearing gabbro
Foid syenite

alkali
feldspar Fold gabbro
syenite Foid Foid
monzosyenite monzodiorite

60

Foidolite

Q= Quartz
A= Alkali feldspar
P= Plagioclase
F= Feldspathoids
F

22
 Q
AHANITIC IGNEOUS
ROCK

60

Alkali rhyolite

Dacite
Rhyolite

10 35 65 90
20
Quartz alkali Quartz latite
trachyte Quartz
trachyte Andesite,
basalt
5
Alkali Latite
Trachyte
trachyte
A P
Foid-bearing Foid-bearing
Foid-bearing trachyte Foid-bearing latite andesite, basalt
alkali trachyte 10
Foidsyenite

Tephrite, basanite
Phonolitic tephrite
(basanite)
Tephritic phonolite

60

Foidite

23
PHANERITIC ROCKS (PLUTONIC)

For example: the following results were obtained after analyzing a phaneritic rock:

Q= 18%, A= 27%, P=32%

Solution

Q+A+P = 18+27+32 = 77

We normalize

100 = 100 = 100

X+Y+Z Q+A+P 77

Q= 100 X 18 = 23%
77

A= 100 X 27 = 35%
77

P= 100 X 32 = 42%
77

Ql+Al+Pl = 23+35+42 = 100%

Next is to find the ratio of AP

AP ratio = 100P = 100 X 42 = 4200 = 55

P + A 42 + 35 77

This implies that, plotting the components above, the point will fall in the field of 55 along the
AP horizontal line.

Note

1. For rocks that plot near P, a problem arises. Three common rocks plot near this corner;
gabbro, diorite and anorthosite. They can be distinguished on the basis of their Q:A:P ratio.
Anorthosite has >90% plagioclase in the un-normalized mode and it is easily distinguished.
Both diorite and gabbro can be distinguished based on other criteria other than their Q:A:P
ratio.
a) In hand specimen, gabbro is defined as having >35% mafic and diorite have <35%
mafic minerals.

24
 b) In thin section, gabbro is more anorthite rich (Gabbro> An50) and diorite is less
anorthite rich (<An50)
2. It is acceptable under the I.U.G.S system to include mineralogy, chemical or textural
features in a rock name.
The goal is to impact some descriptive information. For example, if the rock is light
coloured, you may want to add the prefix “Leuco” or “Melano” if dark coloured.

APHANETIC ROCKS (VOLCANIC)

Volcanic rocks are treated the same way as phaneritic rocks. One determines the mode,
normalized the value to Pl, Al, Ql or Fl and plot the result using the diagram for aphanitic rocks.

Because the mode is difficult to obtain accurately for volcanic rocks, their classification chart has
been modified from the more detailed one published by the I.U.G.S. This is because it is
impossible to recognize the mineralogy of the matrix of most of the rocks, its mode most be
based on phenocryst.
The I.U.G.S recommends that, rocks identified in such a manner must be called ‘phenotypes’
and have the prefix ‘Pheno’ inserted before the name of the rock.
Rocks that plot near P in the classification chat for aphanitic rocks also present a problem. One
cannot distinguish andesite from basalt by using the chart. This is because they both fall in the
same place (field). The I.U.G.S recommended a distinction based on colour index or silica
content.
Andesite has color index < 35% and SiO2 > 52% whilst basalt has color index >35% and SiO2<
52%.
The most reliable way to avoid the matrix problem is to analyze the volcanic rock chemically
and use a classification scheme based on the analysis of SiO2.
The I.U.G.S has subsequently recommended the classification of volcanic rocks based on the
simple diagram, comparing the total alkaline with silica. To use it, we normalize the chemical
analysis of a volcanic rock to 100%. The Na2O + K20 are plotted against SiO2.

CLASSIFICATION OF PYROCLASTICS
Pyroclastic are commonly classified based on:
1. The type of fragment.
2. The size of the material.
If the type of material is the basis of classification, the volume percent of glass, rock fragments,
and crystal fragments are determined, and the name derived from the classification chart.
If the fragment size is the basis of classification, we determine the percentage size of the
fragments that fall into each of the following categories.

 Greater than 64mm= bomb, blocks, etc.

 Between 2-64mm = Lapilli
 Less than 2mm = Ash or volcanic ash.

25
IGNEOUS ENVIRONMENT
INTRUSIVE ENVIRONMENT
Intrusive igneous rocks are formed as a result of solidification of magma beneath the earth
surface at depth varying from meters to tens of kilometers. Intrusive rocks are characterized
petrologically by:
i. The depth of emplacement
ii. The nature and geometry of the contact
iii. The size of the body

The term pluton is typically restricted to deeper intrusive bodies (> 5km), were as intrusion is a
more general term that may be used for both shallow and deep seated bodies.
The term hyperbasal has commonly been used to describe very shallow intrusive bodies.
The contact of an intrusive rock can be either concordant or discordant in relation to the country
rock.
If the country rock behaves in a brittle way during intrusion, emplacement of the igneous rock
may be accompanied by faulting and fracturing as the intruding magma makes room for itself
and thus results in a discordant contact, because bedding of foliation is truncated at the margins
of the igneous bodies.
Concordant intrusive contacts are more or less uniform contact which results when the country
rock do not behave in a brittle way. Concordant contact are mostly found in small scales in
shallow sills, where the intrusive force of the magma has been able to force apart a country rock
along bedding planes without producing appreciable fracturing or faulting.
Concordance or discordance of intrusive contacts is commonly a matter of scale observation.
Many intrusive rocks that appear to be concordant at individual outcrops are actually broadly
discordant when traced on a regional scale.
This situation is especially true for igneous rocks that have been exposed at certain levels within
the crust. During deep crustal metamorphism, temperature may exceed those required for partial
melting of some meta-sedimentary rocks. The process of partial melting is called Anatexis.
When the Anatetic magma generated by the process of melting remains at its site of origin or
moves locally, it produces complex patterns of concordance or discordance.
Contacts may be either sharp or gradational. A gradational contacts result from a small
chemical interaction between the magma and the country rocks. The failure to interact is due
either to the presence of a relatively unreactive country rock (Quartzite) or to rapid chilling of the
magma against the country rock.
A large temperature contrast is commonly reflected by a significant decrease in grain size with
the igneous rock near the contact.
This region of reduced grain size is called the chilled margin.

26
XENOLITHS AND XENOCRYSTS
These are inclusions of minerals or rock fragments from the surrounding. They typically occur
near the margins of igneous bodies, but they can be present throughout. They are referred to as
alien bodies. Their names are based on a Greek root ‘’Xeno’’ meaning foreign and they
represent fragments of the rocks through which the magma has moved to it site of final
emplacement and crystallization.
In certain types of basalts and related magmas like kimberlite - that originate deep in the mantle,
are small fragments of mantle material (such as diamonds and fist size peridolite blocks) which
have been transported upward from near the source of magma formation or collected along the
vertical ascent part.
Granitic rocks derived within the crust more commonly contain large xenoliths of metamorphic
or sedimentary rocks.

EXTRUSIVE ENVIRONMENT:
Extrusive igneous rocks are form by the flow of Lava or the fall of pyroclastic debris on pre-
existing erosional surfaces which can be either sub aerial (exposed to air) or sub marine (under
water). Because those surfaces tend to be irregular, the resulting contact surfaces are commonly
irregular. The contact can be parallel to the bedding of foliation in the country rock in which case
it is called concordant.
Alternatively if the contact is at an angle to the bedding of foliation of the country rock, in which
case it is discordant.
When an extrusive contact is located over an irregular surface of flat lying sedimentary rocks, the
contact may be concordant in some place and discordant in others.
The country rock below an extrusion might show the effect of weathering that pre-dated the
emplacement of the igneous rock, including soil formation, oxidation, or hydration. Such effects
demonstrate that the igneous rock was extruded on an erosional surface.
If lose weathered material was present at the contact surface, some of it is often found within the
lower part of the lava flow or ash layer. These foreign materials within any igneous rock are
termed inclusion.
The country rocks commonly show effect of the heating they have received beneath thin
extrusive lava flows or ash falls. These effects consist of relatively minor baking which produces
some colour change and perhaps a slight increase in hardness due to recrystallization.
The upper surface of lava flows or ash layers are commonly irregular as a result of a break up of
solidified crust during flow or erosion, thus producing a discordant contact with the overlapping
sedimentary or volcanic layer.
In a succession of rock layers, the top of a buried lava flows or ash layer is sometime indicated
by the presence of vesicles, which are as spherical as cylindrical cavities left by gas bubbles
within solidifying lavas. Vesicular structures commonly forms on the upper portions of lava

27
flows as low density gas bubbles rise upward through the denser magma. The absence of
vesicular structures does not necessarily disprove an extrusive origin because erosion of the
upper part of the lava flow or ash layer might have taken place before deposition of the overlying
layer. If the vesicles (if present) are filled with secondary minerals, they form Amygdaloidal
structures.

TYPES OF IGNEOUS INTRUSIONS

1. SILLS
Sills are concordant, tabular bodies that are emplaced essentially parallel to the bedding of
foliation in the country rock. They commonly occur in relatively unfolded country rocks at
shallow crustal levels. A high degree of fluidity (i.e. low viscosity) is required to produce this
sheet like forms. Majority of sills are basaltic because basaltic magmas are considerably more
fluid (less viscose than granitic once) and therefore can more easily intrude in this fashion (along
the bedding of foliation of the country rock). Sills are either simple, multiple or differentiated. In
differentiated sills, the denser, earlier formed crystals settle into a zone near the chilled base, this
process produces a variable composition within the sill, from top to base.
Sills are typically thin, but thickness range from a few meters to several hundred meters. Thicker
sills are much more likely to be differentiated than thin once, because the thicker sills retain fluid
long enough for crystal settling to occur. For similar thermal reasons, the textures of thicker sills
are more commonly coarser than those of thin sills, because the crystals have had more time to
grow.
Diagram

28
2. LACCOLITHS:
Laccoliths are concordant; mushroom shaped intrusions that ranges in diameter from 1-8km and
have a maximum thickness of about 1000m.
They occur in relatively undeformed sedimentary rocks at shallow depth.
Laccoliths are created when magma that is rising upward in a cross cutting dike, through
essentially horizontal layer in the earth crust reaches more resistant layer. The magma then
spreads out laterally beneath this layer, there by forming a dome in the overlying starter. If the
magma encounters low resistance to horizontal spreading, laccoliths may grade into a sill.
Most laccoliths are created by relatively silica rich magma. Silisic magmas have a much higher
viscosity than mafic magmas and thus have much greater resistance to the uniform lateral spread
required for sill formation.
Diagram

3. LOPOLITHS:
A lopolith consist of a large; lenticular; centrally sunken, but generally concordant basin shaped
intrusive mass. Most lopoliths are found in undeformed or gently folded regions. The thickness is
generally 1/10 & 1/20th of the width.
The diameter ranges from 10(s) – 100(s) of km; with thickness up to thousands of meters.
Lopoliths are always almost composed of well layered mafic to ultramafic rock types, a
characteristic given rise to the commonly used term layered intrusion. A few lopoliths have a
very thin cap of granitic materials at the top. When compositions of all the layers are averaged,
total bulk composition of lopoliths are closed to basalt. Examples of lopoliths/layered intrusion
are; the Freetown igneous complex, the Bushveldt complex in South Africa, the skaergard
intrusion/complex, the still water complex (Montana).

29
Diagram

3. PHACOLITHS
Are curved lensoid mass injected along and concordant with the arches and troughs of folded
strater.
Diagram

6. DYKES/VEINS
Dykes are thin, tabular discordant intrusive bodies that cut across the foliations or beddings of
the country rock. They range in thickness from less than a meter to several hundred meters, and
a few have been traced along strike for tens of kilometers. If they are emplaced into already
existing fracture systems (which is typical of dykes), they may occur singly or in groups
(swarms). In some areas, dykes occur as radiating swarms centered in an intrusion or on the
flanks of a volcano where they may represent the feeders for eruptions distant from the summit
crater.
Dykes very commonly are more resistant to erosion than surrounding country rocks and
therefore form residual ridges.

30
Diagram

VEINS
Veins are not strictly igneous phenomena, but in many cases are created by hydrothermal
activities. They are small, discordant, dyke like structure fillings in country rocks and are
commonly associated with replacement or alteration of the host rock.
Most veins appeared to have formed by means of mineral precipitation from hydrothermal fluids.
The most common sort is quartz veins, in which massive white quartz forms the bulk of the vein.
Diagram

7. BATHOLITHS AND STOCKS

Batholiths are large plutons that have steeply outward dipping walls and generally lack a floor or
shaped lower contact. They are commonly composed of silica rich igneous rocks and range in
outcrop area from one hundred to several thousand square kilometers. An arbitrary low limit in
area separates them from stocks; which are similar to batholiths in shape but by definition have a
maximum surface out-crop of 100km2.
Stock and Batholiths range from completely concordant to completely discordant. Many
batholiths conform to regional structures generally and thus are broadly concordant, but may be
highly discordant locally.

31
8. COMPOSITE PLUTONS
These are spherical and rather common class of batholitic or stock- like intrusive bodies that
represent multiple pulses of intrusion. Diverse igneous rock types occur in sharp or gradational
contact with one another in composite plutons. Gradational contacts commonly contain well
developed deformational fabrics such as foliation and lineation.
Intrusive rock types grading from diorite to granite occur together in such plutons. Simultaneous
of basalt and granite are uncommon.
This simultaneous intrusion of igneous rocks is termed Bimodal Magmatism.

32
TYPES OF EXTRUSIONS
Extrusive rocks tend to be either layered or conical depending on the nature and amount of the
erupted material and the mechanism of eruption. Silica poor magmas that have low gas content
and relatively low viscosity commonly produce lava flows. This character is typical of basalt.
The term lava is used both for magma that has been erupted unto the earth surface and for the
rock that solidify from it. Many lavas include minor volumes of pyroclastic materials (fragments
from rock materials) i.e. loose fragmental materials such as cinders or small volcanic bombs that
has been ejected from the volcanic vent. Silica rich magmas with high gas content and high
viscosity virtually always form pyroclastic layers on the surface. Rhyolite is a typical example.
Extrusions can be classified as:

1. Lava Flows 2. Volcanoes

1. LAVA FLOWS
Most lava flows are basaltic, although they can also be andesitic. Lava flows are classified as:
(a) Pahoehoe Lava (b) AA Lava (c) Block Lava (d) Pillow Lava

(a) PAHOEHOE LAVA

They have glassy, billowy and occasionally ropy surfaces. The shape of the upper surface
commonly resembles irregular folds in clothes and result from distortion of thin, chilled but still
plastic surface zone by differential movement of an underlying more fluid material within the
interior of the flow. Many pahoehoe flows also contain large areas that are relatively smooth.

(b) A A LAVAS
They have rough, fragmented surfaces. The upper portions of AA flows are vesicular and
resemble furnace or slag clinkers, whereas the inner portions are relatively dense. The clinker
fragments are very rough and irregular in shape and may have projecting spin-like point on the
surface. Individual fragments are typically less than 15cm in diameter but can be as large as a
few meters. Spaces between the larger fragments are commonly partially filled by fine ground
fragment produced by abrasion of the larger fragments as they collide during flow movement.

(c) BLOCK LAVAS

Are composed of fragments that are smooth relative to the irregular AA clinkers. Surfaces of
block lava flows are very irregular, sometimes with relief of several meters. Ridges are
perpendicular to the direction of flow often develop as a result of lava surges from the vent. Very
high viscosity and occasional rapid flow cause breakage of the cold lava, into angular fragments
that become rounded or fragmented.

33
A complete graduation exists between pahoehoe, AA and block lavas. Commonly, flows issue
from a volcanic vent as pahoehoe and change to AA or block lavas during down slope
movement. The transition is principally a function of increase in viscosity and the movement of
agitation of the flowing lava. As lava moves down slope, it cools, solidifies and most importantly
loses gas. All of these factors but particularly the last tend to increase the lava viscosity and
convert pahoehoe to AA or block lavas.
If magma sufficiently outgases before or during eruption, AA or block lavas are produced
directly from the vent. Block lavas are typically more siliceous and are associated with greater
volumes of pyroclastic.

(a) PILLOW LAVAS

Consist of masses of ellipsoidal or pillow shaped bodies. The base of each pillow takes the shape
of the one below as the pillows pile up. The internal structure of each pillow consists of a fine
grained crystalline core with a glass crust, all with radial jointing. This arrangement is in contrast
with the concentric structures caused by a radial arrangement of vesicles that are sometimes
found in pahoehoe lavas.
Pillows generally range in size from 10cm – 6m. The composition of pillow lavas is typically
basaltic or andesitic but these lavas are commonly enriched with sodium as a result of sea water
alteration. Observations also indicate that, pillow structures result from the quenching of hot
basaltic lava by sea water. Pillow lavas have also been observed in mid-ocean ridges, central rift
by deep sub-miscible vehicles.
Because pillow lavas are the most common types of lavas on the sea floor and because the ocean
covers about 70% of the earth surface, this type of lava is undoubtedly the most abundant of all
the flow types on earth. The presence of preserved pillow lavas in the rock record is also an
important clue to the existence of a marine environment.

2. VOLCANOES
There are four principal types of volcanoes. These are:
(i) Shield Volcanoes
(ii) Composite volcanoes
(iii) Cinder cones
(iv) Lava domes

(i) SHIELD VOLCANOES

These are broad flat cones composed mainly to exclusively of lava flows. The sites of shield
volcanoes typically have slope angle of 20 – 100 and the base makes a smooth transition to the
surroundings. Shield volcanoes range from small i.e. with summit elevation of only 1000m to
large with summit elevation of up to 10,000m.

34
The crests of shield volcanoes are generally caped by either a cinder cone or Spatter Cone.
Mostly the crest of shield volcanoes contains a large depression. This depression area is called a
caldera. Calderas are formed when the roof of the magma chamber collapse following magma
eruption or sub-terranian withdrawal of magma from the sub-summit magma chamber. Later
eruptions often fill the caldera with lava often creating a lava lake.
Volcanic eruptions can be violent, throwing rock fragments and molten magma from the vent.
Forceful ejection of liquids that fall and solidify immediately adjacent to the vents produces
spatter cones. Spatter cones are commonly found associated with the eruptions of very fluid
basalts. The solids thrown from the vents are called ejecta. Accumulations of Ejecta are called
pyroclastic rock or Tephra.
Explosive volcanic eruptions that eject many discrete large blocks and booms are classified as
Strombolian volcanoes. In Strombolian ejection, velocities of individual particles have been
estimated to be close to the speed of sound.

(ii) CINDER CONES (PYROCLASTIC CONES)

These are constructed of pyroclastic fragments ejected from a central vent. In contrast to the
gentle shield volcanoes, cinder cones commonly have slopes of about 330 steep. Most of the
ejected materials land near the vent during an eruption building up the cone to a peak. Cinder
cones tend to be very much smaller than shield volcanoes. For example; cinder cones are
commonly found on the flanks and in the calderas of Hawaiian shield volcanoes. Few cinder
cones exceed a height of 500m.
Cinder cones are formed by pyroclastic accumulation around a vent. They are formed because of
the build of gasses and are independent of composition. Most cinder cones are associated with
mafic or intermediate lavas. Silica cinder cones which are made of fragments of pumice are also
known as pumice cones.
The life span of active cinder cones tend to be short. The local concentration of gas is depleted
rather quickly during the eruptive period.

(iii) COMPOSITE VOLCANOES

Composite volcanoes are composed of alternating layers of pyroclastic fragment and solidified
lava flows. The slopes are intermediate in steepness (˂330) compared to cinder cones and shield
volcanoes.
Pyroclastic layers build up steep slope as debris collect near the vent just as in cinder cones.
However, subsequent lava flows partially flattened the profile of the cone as the downward flow
build up the heat of the flanks more than the summit areas.
The solidified lava act as a protective cover to those pyroclastic layers making composite
volcanoes less vulnerable to erosion than cinder cones.

35
Composite volcanoes are build over long spans of life time. Eruption is intermittent with
hundreds or thousands of years of inactivity. During inactivity, the volcanoes may be eroded by
running water, landslides or glaciers. These surficial processes tend to alter the surface shape and
form of the cone.
However, because of their long lives and resistance to erosion, composite cones can remain large
for over a long period of time.
The extrusive material that builds composite cones is dominantly of intermediate composition,
although there may be local minor silica and mafic eruptions.
Therefore, andesite is the rock most commonly associated with composite volcanoes. Nearly all
the larger and better known volcanoes of the world are composite volcanoes.
They tend to occur along two major belts on the earth surface:

 Circumpacific Belt
 Mediterranean Belt

(iv) LAVA DOMES

Are steep sided domes or spinned shaped masses of volcanic rocks formed from viscose lava that
solidifies in or immediately above a volcanic vent. Most of the viscose lavas that form lava
domes are high in silica. They solidify as rhyolite or less commonly andesite if materials
crystallize or as obsidian if no mineral crystallizes. Because the thick pasty lava that squeezes
from a vent is too viscose to flow, it builds up a steep sided dome.
Some lava domes act like Champaign corks keeping gasses from escaping. If the plag or cork is
broken, the gasses escape suddenly and violently.

KEY TERMS

1. Vent: This is the opening through which on eruption takes place.

2. Crater: The crater of volcanoes is a basin like depression over a vent at the summit of the
cone. They are mostly formed by moderately explosion eruption.

3. Caldera: These are formed when the roof of a magma chamber collapses following magma
eruption or subterranean withdrawal of magma from the sub-summit magma chamber. Calderas
have a diameter of at least 1km. Later eruptions often fill the caldera with lava thereby creating a
lava lake.

4. Spatter Cones: Forceful ejections of liquid that falls and solidifies immediately adjacent to
the vent produces spatter cones. The size of spatter cones can be very steep but they are rarely
over 10m high.

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5. Ejecta: The solid thrown from the vent are called ejecta and accumulation of ejecta are called
pyroclastics or tephra

6. Strombolian: Explosive volcanoe eruptions that eject many discrete layer blocks and bombs
are classified as strombolian. In Strombolian ejection, velocities of individual particles have been
estimated to be close to the speed of sound.

7. Pyroclastics: Accumulation of ejecta is called pyroclastics or Tephra.

TYPES OF PYROCLASTICS:
(i) Bombs: If lava is ejected into the air, a molten block becomes stream lined during
flight, solidifies and falls to the ground. This is called a volcanic bomb

(ii) Blocks: When a solid rock has been blasted apart by a volcanic explosion, the
pyroclastic fragments are angular, with no rounded edges or corners and are called
blocks.

(iii) ASH: These are the finest particles from an explosion. If ash consolidates in a rock, it
is called a Tuff.

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METHODS OF EMPLACEMENT OF IGNEOUS ROCKS
Field evidence is a very useful tool employed for emplacement mechanisms. Two of the
mechanisms observed in the field are:
1. Forceful Injection
2. Magmatic Stopping.
These two mechanisms are the most useful evidences available. Formations of melts by anatexis
and retention of the magmas near their source is not really considered emplacement, because the
magma has moved little, if at all.

1. FORCEFUL INJECTION
Evidence of forceful injection is abundant around many intrusive bodies. In this process, magma
under pressure is forced out of the magma chamber and into cracks and fractures in surrounding
country rocks. This effect is mostly seen where small dikes of intruding magma have clearly
forced apart adjacent dike walls. The geologist must look for the presence of one or more
structures that cross the intrusive dike at angles other than about 900.
Dilation or forceful opening by intrusive stress will displace these features perpendicular to the
dike walls. It is even better to find two country rock structures crossing the intrusion at different
angles. When these features are found, it is obvious that the two opposing segments of dike wall
have not been subjected to faulting but only to spreading or dilation. The particular contours of
the opposite sides are then matched together. Forceful injection in the brittle regime can also be
document by finding fracturing, doming and faulting of overlying rocks.
On occasions, magma is substantially crystallized when emplaced. In this situation, a shear zone
develops at the country rock and solidified igneous material near the edges of the intrusive body.
Internal shear zone separating large regions of the interior of batholiths and stock sized granitic
bodies also occur.
On other occasions, magmatic pressures may be sufficient to raise the roof of the magma,
thereby forming an inward- dipping conical fracture with its apex at the top of the intrusion.
Magma (typically basaltic) injected along the fracture then crystallizes to form what is called a
cone sheet.

4. MAGMATIC STOPPING
Magmatic stopping is a second important mechanism of intrusion. In mining terminology,
overhead stopping describes a process whereby miners tunnel under an ore body and mine it
from below by drilling and blasting upward, causing chunks of the roof rock to fall. Magmatic
stopping is initiated during intrusion when overlying country rock fractures.
Fragments sink into the magma chamber, thus allowing magma to move upward into the vacated
space. The foreign fragments (Xenoliths) may react with melt, depending on their compositions
and the magma temperature.

38
Near total assimilation of xenoliths produces diffused streaks, bands, or clots either of minerals
that are not ordinarily present in the igneous rocks or igneous minerals (typically dark colored
mafic ones in granites) that are locally present in anomalously high concentrations.

TYPES OF MAGMATIC STOPPING

(a) Piecemeal Stopping: stopping that involves the incorporation of many small blocks of
country rock.

(b) Cauldron Subsidence: This is the process by which large mass of the magma chamber
roof collapses and sinks into the magma below.
Magma that moves upward along the associated fracture crystallizes to form a more or
less vertical ring dike.

The most extreme case of magmatic stopping is that of foundering. Here the magma chamber is
larger and close to the surface, and has a thin roof. Collapse of the roof can result in inclusion of
huge blocks of country rocks that have been titled at different angles and perhaps have partially
settled into the magma below. The collapse of overlying rocks can also allow easy passage of
magma to the surface and thus cause extensive volcanism to accompany the foundering.

IGNEOUS DIFFERENTION
Igneous differentiation is an umbrella term for the various processes by which magma undergo
bulk chemical change during the partial melting process, cooling, emplacement etc.

DEFINITIONS

 PRIMARY MELT
When a rock melts, it melts to form a liquid, the liquid is known as a primary melt. Primary
melts have not undergone any differentiation and represent the starting composition of a magma.
In nature it is rare to find primary melts. The leucosomes of some of migmatites are examples of
primary melts. Primary melts derived from the mantle are especially important, and are known as
primitive melts or primitives magmas. By finding the primitive magma composition of a magma
series, it is possible to model the composition of the mantle from which the magma/ melt was
formed; which is important because we have little direct evidence of the mantle.

 PARENTAL MELTS
Where it is impossible to find the primitive or primary magma composition, it is often useful to
attempt to identify a parental melt. A parental melt is a magma composition from which the
observed range of magma chemistries has been derived by the processes of igneous
differentiation.. It need not be a primitive melt. For instance, a series of basalt flows are assumed

39
to be related to one another. A composition from which they could reasonably be produced by
fractional crystallization is termed a parental melt.

 CUMULATE ROCKS
Fractional crystallization and accumulation of crystals formed during the differentiation process
of a magmatic event are known as cumulate rocks. Identifying whether a rock is a cumulate or
not is crucial for understanding if it can be modeled back to a primary melt or a primitive melt
and identifying whether the magma has dropped out cumulate minerals is equally important even
for rocks which carry no phenocrysts.

UNDERLYING CAUSES OF DIFFERENCIATION

The primary cause of change in the composition of magma is cooling, which is an inevitable
consequence of the magma being created and migrating from the site of partial melting into an
area of lower stress generally a cooler volume of the crust.
Cooling causes the magma to begin to crystallize minerals from the melt or liquid portion of the
magma. Most magmas are a mixture of liquid rocks (melt) and minerals (Phenocrysts).
Contamination is another cause of magma differentiation. Contamination can be caused by
assimilation of wall rocks, mixing of two or more magmas or even by replenishment of the
magma chamber with fresh, hot magma.
The whole mechanisms for differentiation has been referred to as the FARM process which
stands for Fractional Crystallization, Assimilation, Replenishment and Magma mixing.

1. FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLISATION
Fractional crystallization is one of the most important geochemical and physical processes
operating within the earth crust and mantle.
Fractional crystallization is the removal and segregation of mineral precipitates from a melt
which changes the composition of the melt.
Fractional crystallization in silicate melts (magmas) is a very complex process compared to
chemical systems in the laboratory because it is affected by a wide variety of phenomena. Prime
amongst these is the composition, temperature and pressure of magma during its cooling.
The composition of magma is the primary control on which minerals are crystallized, as the melt
cools down past the liquidus. For instance; in mafic and ultra-mafic melts, the MgO and SiO2
content determines whether fosterite olivine is precipitated or whether enstatite pyroxene is
precipitated.
Two magmas of similar composition and temperature at different pressure may crystallize
different minerals. An example is high-pressure fractional crystallization of granites to produce
single – feldspar granite, and low-pressure conditions which produce two feldspar granites.

40
2. ASSIMILATION
Assimilation is a popular mechanism for explaining the falsification of ultramafic and mafic
magmas as they rise through the crust. Assimilation assumes that a hot primitive melt intruding
into a cooler, felsic crust will melt the crust and mix with the resulting melt. This alters the
composition of the primitive magma.

3. REPLENSIHMENT
When a melt undergoes cooling along the liquid line of decent, the results are limited to the
production of a homogenous solid body of intrusive rock, with uniform mineralogy and
composition, or a partially differentiated cumulate mass with layers, compositional zones and so
on.
This behavior is fairly predictable and easy enough to prove with geochemical investigations.

4. MAGMA MIXING
Magma mixing is the process by which two magmas meet, comingle, and form magma of a
composition somewhere between the two end-member magmas. Magma mixing is a common
process in volcanic magma chambers, which are open-system chambers where magma enter the
chamber, undergo some form of assimilation, fractional crystallization and partial melt extraction
(via eruption of lava), and are replenished.

Magma mixing also tends to occur at deeper levels in the crust and is considered one of the
primary mechanisms for forming intermediate rocks such as monzonite and andesite due to heat
transfer and increased volatile flux from subduction (essentially granitic in composition). These
granitic melts are known as under plate.

Basaltic primary melts formed in the mantle beneath the crust rise and mingle with the under
plate magmas, the result being part-way between basalt and rhyolite, literally an intermediate
composition.

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 IGNEOUS MINERALS
Igneous rocks contain a significant variety of silicate and non silicate minerals which fall into
two broad categories;
(a) High temperature (primary) minerals: These crystallize directly from magma.
(b) Low temperature (secondary) minerals: These forms at temperatures below those at
which any melt can exist. This temperature is called the sub -solidus regime.
Secondary minerals typically reflect partial or total replacement of high temperature (primary)
minerals lower temperature ones.
The replacement commonly involve hydration or oxidation of primary minerals by late fluids
which are either magmatic or due to near surface weathering. In the great majority of igneous
rocks, primary minerals dominate and secondary minerals occur only in minor amounts. The
primary minerals are often called essential minerals and the secondary minerals are called
accessory minerals.

1. SILICA MINERALS
The silica minerals have the composition SiO2. They are framework silicates in which each of
the silicon atoms is coordinated by four oxygen atoms and each SiO4 group (tetrahedron) is
linked to four others.
Silica minerals included in this group are typically restricted to volcanic rocks. These are; α-
quartz (trigonal), β-quartz (hexagonal). Trigonal α-quartz and hexagonal β-quartz are the
polymorphs of quartz related by a phase transformation at roughly 600˚C (β-quartz on the high
temperature side)
Because virtually all magmas crystallize at temperature greater than 600˚C, quartz spontaneously
inverts to α-quartz when cooled below the transformation temperature.

2. FELDSPARS (TECTOSILICATE)
The feldspar group constitute several individual chemical species and is unquestionably the most
abundant mineral group both in the earth’s crust and in igneous rocks.
Structurally, the feldspars are framework alumino-silicates based on a three dimensional
coordinated silicon and aluminium. All four corner oxygen in each SiO4 or AlO4 tetrahedron are
linked to adjacent tetrahedral.
The dominant cations in feldspars are sodium, potassium and calcium. The more common
feldspars are:

 KAlSi3O8 Orthoclase (also microcline, sanidine)

 NaAlSi3O8 Albite
 CaAl2Si2O8 Anorthite

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The multiple names for potassic feldspar refer to polymorphs that have slightly different crystal
structure because of different conditions of origin. Orthoclase is the typical potassium feldspar
that crystallize in plutonic rocks, although it commonly inverts to microcline as the rock cools.
Sanidine is considerable rarer than the other two polymorphs and is very high temperature
mineral essentially restricted to volcanic rocks.

The feldspar comprises of the plagioclase and alkali feldspar series. Feldspar like many other
minerals, rarely occur in a chemically pure end member form or in compositionally
homogeneous crystal. Pairing between the plagioclase and alkali feldspar series is common and
there are various solid solutions in which the end members mix in either complete or limited
amount. The extent of mixing is control largely by the match of the structural and chemical
properties between the end member lattices. For example the most important feldspar solid
solution series is the plagioclase series, which involves complete mixing of albite and anorthite
end members at magmatic temperature.
Compositions within plagioclase series are typically indicated by petrologist in terms of
molecular percentages of anorthite component, for example An50 which represent 50% anorthite
and 50% albite. There are a number of commonly used name for plagioclase composition sub
ranges within the series. These common names for plagioclase are: Albite (An0-10), oligoclase
(An10-30), labradorite (An50-70), bytownite (An70-90) and anorthite (An90-100).
Similarly there is complete mixing at high temperatures (and a moderate extent of mixing at low
temperatures) between orthoclase and albite in the alkali feldspar series. Feldspar and other
minerals commonly show chemical zoning, i.e the variation of chemical composition within
single crystals. In many minerals, especially plagioclase, this zoning is concentric and is readily
apparent in thin sections.

3. OLIVINE
Olivine is the characteristic ferromagnesian mineral of lower-silica igneous rock. Its structure is
that of isolated silica tetrahedral linked together by iron and magnesium cations. Naturally
occurring olivines are solid solutions of the magnesium end member fosterite (MgSiO 4) and the
iron end member fayalite (FeSiO4). Compositions within the solid solution series are indicated
as molecular percentages of the fosterite component, for example, Fo50. Magnesium-rich olivines
are far more common than iron-rich ones and are essential constituents of ultramafic rocks,
olivine basalts, and olivine gabbros. Fayalitic olivines are generally restricted to highly
fractionate granitic rocks. This last observation illustrates an interesting principle. Whereas
intermediate and magnesian olivines form in only low-silica rich rocks and are incompatible with
quartz; fayalite can does coexist with free quartz.

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4. PYROXENES
The pyroxene group is a broadly diverse mineral family whose various members constitute the
most abundant and widespread of the ferromagnesian minerals in igneous rocks. Pyroxene
occurs as major rock forming mineral across the whole spectrum of igneous rocks from
peridotites and gabbros to certain granites. Although most pyroxenes contain significant ferrous
ion and magnesium, there are certain unusual members of the family, such as jadeite
(NaAlSi2O8) and aegerine (NaFe3+Si2O6)
Structurally, pyroxenes are all single-chain silicates based on the tetrahedral linkage. They
contain essentially endless one-dimensional chains made up of SiO4 tetrahedral in which two
apical oxygen are shared with adjacent tetrahedral.

The broadest chemical subdivision of the pyroxenes separates them into the calcic and low-
calcic varieties.
This subdivision largely correlates with a structural subdivision into monoclinic and
orthorhombic varieties. The monoclinic varieties are called clinopyroxene and the orthorhombic
varieties are called orthopyroxene.
However, a variety of clinopyroxene called pigeonite, which is important in some igneous rocks,
particularly basaltic volcanic, is a low-calcium variety. Clino and ortho-pyroxenes are widely
distributed in both igneous rocks and high grade metamorphic rocks. This implies that they form
at high temperatures.
Solid solution between end members are common within the pyroxenes and tend to be complete
when end members are either both clinopyroxene or both orthopyroxene, but are less complete
for mixed orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene end members. The most common calcic pyroxene
solid solution is the complete series between diopside (CaMgSi2O6) and hedenbergite
(CaFeSi2O6).This constitutes the clinopyroxene series. The solid solution between enstatite
(Mg2si2O6) and ferrosillite (Fe2Si2O6) constitutes the ortho-pyroxene series. Many
ferromagnesian mineral series show this complete mixing of magnesium and ferrous iron in their
crystal structure.
The only sodic pyroxene that occurs in igneous rocks is aegerine-augite, which can occur in
relatively pure end member form or commonly in solid solution with augites as aegerine-augite
solid solution.
An essential requirement for the occurrence of pyroxenes in igneous rocks is that the magmas
have low water content. In water-rich magmas, hydrous minerals such as amphibole or biotite
crystallize instead of pyroxenes.

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5. AMPHIBOLES
The Amphibole group consists of a very large number of possible end member compositions
represented by the basic stoichiometric formula AX2Y5Si8O22 (OH)2- in which the A site is either
vacant or occupied by Na or K; the X site occupied by Ca in the calcic amphibole, by Na in the
sodic amphiboles or by Fe and Mg in the low-calcium amphiboles. The Y site is occupied by fe2+
, Fe3+ , Mg2+, Ti4+ or Al3+ and Al commonly substitutes for Si in the tetrahedral site. Many
different solid solution series are possible within the compositionally complex amphiboles end
member composition.
The most common amphiboles in igneous rocks are the calcic amphiboles eg: trimolite
Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2, ferroactinolite (Ca 2Fe 5Si 8O 22 (OH)2 series , in which the name actinolite
applies to the natural igneous compositions, which are in the middle of the series. Sodium in the
A site and aluminum, in the Y and tetrahedral sites generate the most common calcic amphibole,
hornblende. Hornblende very commonly contains other minor elements. Calcic amphiboles can
crystallize directly from melts but typically do so only in the intermediate and granitic
compositions that are more likely to contain sufficient H2O to form amphibole. They also occur
in igneous rocks as post solidification alterations of pyroxenes. The only common low-calcium
amphibole is cummingtonite, (FeMg)7Si8O22(OH)2, but it occurs in igneous rocks only as
secondary alteration. The sodic amphiboles, of which the most common is riebeckite (Na2 Fe 2+3
Fe3+2 Si8O22(OH)2, which tends to occur only in the most alkaline (and oxidized) igneous rocks
such as alkali granites and syenites, and their volcanic equivalent phonolite.
Amphiboles crystalize into two crystal systems, monoclinic and orthorhombic. In chemical
composition and general characteristics, they are similar to the pyroxenes.

The chief difference between amphiboles and pyroxenes are that

(i) they contain essential hydroxyl ions (OH)

(ii) the basic structure is a double chain of tetrahedral (as opposed to the single chain
structure of pyroxene),

Most apparent, in hand specimens, is that amphiboles form oblique cleavage planes (at around
1200), whereas pyroxenes have cleavage angles of approximately 90 degrees. Amphiboles are
also specifically less dense than the corresponding pyroxenes.
In optical characteristics, many amphiboles are distinguished by their stronger pleochroism and
by the smaller angle of extinction (z angle c) on the plane of symmetry. Amphiboles are the
primary constituent of amphibolites.

45
3. MICAS
Micas are sheet silicates based on a two-dimensional unlimited linkage of silica tetrahedral.
Two -sheets unit are linked together by either aluminum rich layers (muscovite group) or
iron-magnesium layers (biotite group). They are rich in water than-amphiboles and typically
form in more hydrous as well as more potassic magmas. These two sheet units are inturn linked
by large cations, typically potassium (K).
Muscovite has the composition KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2 in which minor amounts or sodium
substitute for potassium. Biotite is a solid solution between the iron end member annite and
mgnessiun end member phlogopite

46
 IGNEOUS TEXTURE
Igneous textures involve degree of crystallinity, grain size and shape, and the geometric
arrangement of individual grains. This last characteristic is also commonly referred to as fabric.
Textures are inherently small scale aspects of the rock, most easily recognised in hand specimen
or thin section. Igneous structures are typically large scale features best recognised in the field,
where their orientations can be determined by the use of geologies compass during geologicl
mapping. There is some overlap between texture and structure, especially on the hand specimen
scale. There are some overlaps between texture and structure especially on the hand specimen
scale.
Textural observations provide information on the order of mineral crystallization, crystallization
rate, and overall conditions of magma cooling and solidification and magma viscosity. Structure
primarily provides clues to magma movement of flows and to movement of crystals within
magma by gravitational setting of floatation.

The main factor that determines the textures of igneous rock is the cooling rate, others
factors includes.

1) Diffusion rate: The rate at which atom or molecules can move through the liquid melt.

2) The rate nucleation of new crystals: The rate at which enough of the chemical
constituents of a crystal can come together in one place without dissolving.

3) The rate of growth of crystals: The rate at which new constituents can arrive at the
surface of the growing crystals. This depends largely on the diffusion rate of the molecules
concerned.

In order for a crystal to form in magma, enough of the chemical of the constituents that would
make up the crystal must be at the same place at the same time to form a nucleus of the crystal.
Once a nucleus forms, the chemical constituents must diffuse through the liquid to arrive at the
surface of the growing crystals. The crystal can then grow until it runs into other crystals or the
supply of chemical constituents is cut off.
All of these rates are strongly depends on the temperature of the system. First, nucleation and
growth cannot occur until the temperatures are below the temperature at which equilibrium
crystallization begins. Note that the rate of crystal growth and nucleation depends on how long
the magma recite at a specified degree of under cooling, and thus the rate at which temperature is
lowered below the crystallization temperature.
Three cases are known:

i) For small degrees of under cooling; the nucleation rate would be low and the
growth rate moderate. A few crystals will form and grow at a moderate rate until they

47
 run into each other. Because there are few nuclei, the crystal will be able to grow to
relatively large size, and a coarse grained texture with results. This is called a
phaneritic.

i) At larger degrees of under cooling; the nucleation rate will be high and growth rate
also high. This will result in many crystals all growing rapidly. But because there are
so many crystals, they will run into each other before they have time to grow and the
resulting texture would be a fined grained texture. If the sizes of the grains are so
small that crystals cannot be distinguished with a hand lens, the texture is said to be
Aphanitic.

ii) At high degree of under cooling; both the growth rate and nucleation rate will be
low. Thus few crystals will form and they will not grow to any large size. The
resulting texture will be glassy with a few tiny crystals microlytes. A completely
glassy texture is called holohyaline.

iii) Two stages of cooling; That is slow cooling to grow a few large crystals followed by
rapid cooling to grow many smaller crystals could result in a porphyritic texture. In a
porphyritic texture, the larger grains are called phenocrysts and the materials
surrounding the phenocrysts are called the ground mass or matrix.

In a rock with a phaneritic texture we use grain the size table below:

Diameter Grain size

<1mm Fine grained
1-5mm Medium grained
5-3cm Coarse grained
>3cm Very coarse grained

In a rock with a porphyritic texture we use the table below to define the grain size:
Diameter Grain size
0.03 – 0.3mm Microphenocryst
0.3 – 5mm Phenocryst
>5mm Megaphenocryst

FABRICS: Another aspect of texture, particularly in medium to coarse grained rocks, is referred
to as fabric. Fabric refers to the mutual relationship between the grains. Three types of fabric are
commonly referred to:

1) EUHEDRAL: That is the grains are bounded by well-formed crystal faces. This fabric is
said to be idiomorphic granular.

48
 2) SUB-HEDRAL: If the grains a bounded by only a few well-formed crystal faces this
fabric is said to be hypidiomorphic granular.

3) ANHEDRAL: That is the crystals or the grain are generally bounded by crystal faces
that are not well developed and in most cases are not bounded by any crystal faces. This
fabric is called allotriomorphic granular.

If the grains have particularly descriptive shapes, then it is essential to describe the individual
grains.
Some common grains shapes are:

i). Tabular: A term used to describe grains that have all off their boundaries or faces
approximately equal in length.

ii). Fibrous: A term used to describe grains that occur as long fabrics.

iii). Acicular: A term used to describe grains that occur as long slender crystals.

iv). Prismatic: A term used to describe grains that show an abundance of prison faces.

Other terms may apply to certain situations if found in a rock.

a) VESSICULAR: This is when a rock contains numerous holes that where once occupied
by a gas phase.
If the vesicles are filed with secondary minerals, the structure is referred to as
amygdaloidal.

b) GLOMEROPORPHYRITIC TEXTURE: If phenocrysts are found to occur as clusters

of crystal, then the rock is said to exhibit a glomeroporphyritic texture.

c) PUMICEOUS TEXTURE: If the vesicles are as abundant that they make up over 50%
of the rock and the rock has a density less than 1 (it will float in H20); then the rock
exhibit a pumiceous texture.

d) SCORACEOUS TEXTURE: If the vesicles are so abundant that they make up over 50%
of the rock and the rock has a density >1; then the rock exhibit scoraceous texture.

e) GRAPHIC TEXTURE: A texture consisting of intergrowth of quartz and alkaline

feldspar wherein the orientation of the quartz grains resemble cuneiform. This texture is
most commonly observed in pegmatite.

49
 f) SPHERULITIC TEXTURE: A texture commonly found in glassy rhyolite, wherein
spherical intergrowth of radiating quartz and feldspar replace glass as a result of
denitrification.

g) OBICULAR TEXTURE: A texture usually restricted to coarse grained rocks that consist
of concentrically banded spheres where in the bands consist of alternating light colour and
a dark colour minerals.

Other textures that may be evident on microscopic examination of igneous rocks are as
follows:

1. MYRMEKITIC TEXTURE: An intergrowth of quartz and plagioclase that shows small

warm like bodies of quartz enclosed in plagioclase. This texture is commonly found in
granite.

2. OPHITIC TEXTURE: Laths of plagioclase in a coarse grained matrix of pyroxene

crystals were in the plagioclase is totally surrounded by pyroxene grains. This texture is
common in diabases and gabbros.

3. SUB - OPHITIC TEXTURE

Similar to ophitic texture. Here, the plagioclase grains are not completely surrounded by
pyroxene crystals.

50
4. POIKILITIC TEXTURE
Small grains of one mineral are completely enclose in large, optically continuous grains
of another mineral.

5. TRACHYTIC TEXTURE
A texture wherein plagioclase grains show a preferred orientation due to flowage and
the interstices between the plagioclase grains are occupied by glass.

51
 PHASE EQUILIBRIA

ONE COMPONENT SYSTEM (SiO2)

Kha
Stishovite

50

Coesite
40

c
30

β-qtz
Pressure

20

a
10 b
α-qtz Cristobalite

Melt
Tridymite
0
573 900 1400 2000
500 1000 1500

Temperature (T˚C)

Univariant lines or
divariant areas

P-T diagram for one component system showing divariant single phase boundary fields for
polymorphs of SiO2.

In the SiO2, there are seven known phases divided into six phases and one melt, namely α-quartz,
β-quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite and stishovite whose stability field can be shown with in
the P-T limit of the P-T diagram.

52
 These are polymorphs of SiO2 and each along will the melt occupied a unique stability area on
the diagram and irreversible transform to β-quartz whereas below ‘b’ all β-quartz will similarly
become α-quartz.

Another typical example of one component system is Al2SiO4 system.

TWO COMPONENT (BINARY) SYSTEMS

x
TMB/TMA x
Liquidus TMB/TMA

T3

a b All
T2 liquid
A + Liquids s B+
T1 Liquids
c d
TE
E

A + B (All solids)
Solidus

A B

Figure 1 above shows the simplest of the two components phase diagrams. The components are
A and B and the possible phases.

A pure crystal of B and liquid with composition ranging between pure A and B. composition are
plotted across the bottom of the diagram. Note that composition can be expressed as either a %
of A or % of B.

In this situation, the pressure is kept constant and it is assumed to be 1atm. The curves separating
the field of A+Liquid from liquid and B+ Liquid are termed liquidus. The horizontal lines
separating the fields of A + Liquid and B + Liquid from A + B (all solids) is termed the solidus.

53
The point ‘E’ where the liquidus curves and the solidus intercepts is termed the Eutetic Point. At
the eutectic point, all three phases, i.e liquid, crystal of B and crystal of A all exist in
equilibrium. Note that eutectic is the only point where this is true on the diagram.

Since we are looking at a system at constant pressure the phase rule in this case is F=C+1-P.

The eutectic point is therefore the invariant point.

If we change the composition of the liquid or temperature, the number of phases will be reduced
to 2. If the system contains only pure A, then the system is a one component system and the
phase A will melt at only one temperature (TMA). If the system contains only pure B, then it will
also be one component system and it will melt at only the melting temperature of B (TMB).

Melting begins at the eutectic temperature (TE). Note that for all composition between A and B,
the melting also occurs over a wide range of temperatures between the solidus and liquidus. This
is true for all components except one, that of the eutectic. The eutectic composition melts at only
one temperature.

EQUILIBRIUM CRYSTALLIZATION OF COMPOSITION

RULE 1:

In equilibrium, crystallization or melting in a close system, the final composition of the system
will be identical to the initial composition of the system. According to rule 1, composition X
which is made up of a mixture of 80% A and 20% B, will have as its final crystalline products a
mixture of 80% crystal of A and 20 % crystal of B. composition will be all liquid above the
temperature T1, because it will lay in the field of all liquid. If the temperature is lower to T1,
crystals of A begins to form.

Further lowering, the temperature cause more crystals of AB to form, as a result the liquid
composition must become more enriched in BA as more crystals of A form out of the liquid.
Thus, lowering of the temperature, the liquid composition will change from point 1 to point 2 to
point 3 and point E as the temperature is lowered from T1 to T2 to T3 and TE respectively.

At all temperatures between T1 and TE, two phases will be present in the system liquid and
crystal of A. At the eutectic temperature (TE), crystal of B will begin to form and their phases
will co-exist in equilibrium; crystals of A, crystals of B and liquid. The temperature must remain
at TE until one of the phases disappear. Thus when the liquid crystallize completely, only pure
solids A and pure solids B will remain and the mixture of these two solid phases will be in
proportion of the original mixture; that is 80% A and 20% B.

The crystallization history of composition X can be written in the abbreviated form as follows:

At temperature >T1, we get all liquid.

54
Between T1-TE = Liquid + crystals of A.

At Te = Liquid + A + B

At T<Te = A+B (all solids)

If we were to stop the crystallization process at any point doing crystallization and observed how
much of each phase is present, we can use the following examples to determine what we will see:

At temperature T2, the amount of crystals of A and liquid {the only two phases present at this
temperature}, could be determine by measuring the distance “A” and “B” on the diagram. The
percentage will be given by the LEVER RULE which is percentage of crystals of A will be
equal to:

b X 100
(a + b)

% of liquid = a X 100
(a + b)

Note that, since the amount of crystals must increase with decrease in temperature the
proportional distance between the vertical line which marks the initial composition and the
liquidus increases as temperature increases.

Thus the distance used to calculate the amount of solid is always measured towards the liquid
side of the initial composition. At temperature T3 note that more crystals must have formed since
the proportional distance is greater than the proportional distance

i.e d b
(c+d) (a+b)

i.e d > b
(c+d) (a+b)

Thus at T3 = Percentage of crystals of A= d X 100

(c + d)

Percentage of liquid c X 100

(c + d)

The melting process is exactly the reverse of the crystallization process, that is, if we started with
composition X at some temperature below TE, the first liquid will form at TE. The temperature
will remain constant at TE until all the crystals of B are melted. Liquid composition will then
change along the liquidus from E to pint 1 as temperature increases until the temperature T1 is
reached. Above T1, the system will contain only liquid with composition of 80% A and 20% B.
The melting process is abbreviated as shown below:

55
At T < TE = A + B [all solid]

At TE = Liquid + A + B

At TE – T1 = Liquid + A

At T > T1 = All Liquid

LIQUIDUS: The line separating field of all liquid from that of liquid + crystals.

SOLIDUS: The line separating the field of all solids from that of liquid + crystals.

EUTETIC POINT: The point on a phase diagram where the maximum allowable phase are in
equilibrium. When this point is reached, the temperature must remain constant until one of the
phases disappears. The eutectic point is also the invariant point.

PERITECTIC POINT: The point on a phase diagram where a reaction takes place between a
previously precipitated phase and the liquid to produce a new solid phase. When this point is
reached, the temperature must remain constant until the reaction has run to completion. A
peritectic point is also an invariant point.

INTERMEDIATE COMPOUND: A phase that has a composition intermediate between two

other phases.

CONGRUENT MELTING: Melting wherein a phase melts to liquid with the same
composition as the solid.

INCONGRUENT MELTING: Melting wherein a phase melts to a liquid with the composition
different from the solid, and produces a liquid of different composition to the original solid.

For the case of incongruent melting, we will use the system of fosterite silica which has an
intermediate compound enstatite (MgSiO3)2. This system is a prime example of the phenomena
of incongruent melting in rocks and therefore gives insight into many aspects of mineral
formation.

56
 X Y
180
Z Liquid
0

a b
En + Liquid

1700

Fo + Liquid
Temperature (˚C)

1600

C d
E

1500

Fo En Qtz + En

0 10 90
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 100
Mg2SiO4 Mg2SiO4
Fo SiO2
En
Qtz

CRYSTALLIZATION OF COMPOSITION X

Composition X is a mixture of 83% fosterite and 17% silica. Because this composition falls
between the composition of pure fosterite and pure enstatite it must end its crystallization history
containing crystals of fosterite and denstatite (i.e no quartz will occupy in the crystallize
mixture). If a mixture such as composition X is taken to temperature above solidus (1850) it will
be an all liquid state. As a liquid of composition X is closed, nothing will happen until the
57
temperature is equal to the temperature of the liquidus. At this point, crystal of fosterite begins to
precipitate out of the liquid. As the temperature is further lowered, the composition of the liquid
will change along the liquidus towards the peritectic (P) and the crystals forming from the liquid
will also be pure fosterite until P is reached. At the temperature of the peritectic, note that three
phases must be in equilibrium; fosterite, liquid and enstatite. At this point, some of the crystals of
fosterite will react with the liquid to produce crystals of enstatite.

The reaction that takes place is as follows:

Mg2SiO4 + SiO2 2MgSiO3

Fosterite silica Enstatite

After all of the liquid is consumed by this reaction, only crystals of fosterite and enstatite will
remain. The proportion of fosterite and enstatite in the final crystalline product can be found by
applying the LEVER RULE:

% of fosterite crystals = d X 100

(c + d)

% of enstatite = c X 100
(c + d)

Note that the melting of composition x is exactly the reverse of crystallization. Mixture X will
begin to melt at the peritectic temperature. At the point, enstatite will melt to crystals of fosterite
+ liquid (incongruent melting) as soon as all of the enstatite crystals have been consumed by this
reaction, the temperature can be increase until it reaches 1850°C, at which point all of fosterite
crystal will have been consumed and the only phase left will be liquid with a composition of the
starting material.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF COMPOSITION Y

Composition Y is equivalent to pure enstatite. Thus only enstatite may appear in the final
crystalline product if perfect equilibrium is maintained.

If composition Y is cooled from an all liquid state, it first begins to crystallize at above 1600-
1760°C. At 1760°C, crystals of fosterite will begin to precipitate from the liquid. This will
continue with further cooling until the temperature of the peritectic is reached. In this interval,
the composition of the liquid must become unriched in SiO2 and will thus change the liquidus,
until it has the composition of the peritectic (P). At the peritectic temperature, all of the
remaining liquid will react with all the previously precipitated fosterite to produce crystals of
enstatite. The temperature will remain constant until this reaction is gone to completion, after
which the only phase present will be pure enstatite. Thus it can be seen that enstatite melt
incongruently. If pure enstatite is heated to a temperature above the peritectic, it melts to fosterite
+ liquid.

58
CRYSTALLIZATION OF COMPOSITION Z

Since composition Z lay between enstatite and SiO2, it must end up with crystals of enstatite and
quartz (rule of equilibrium crystallization). If such a composition where cooled from some high
temperature, where it is in the all liquid i.e if such a composition is cooled from the liquidus, it
will remain all liquid until it reached the liquidus point (1700°C). At this temperature, crystals of
fosterite will begin to precipitate and the composition of the liquid will change along the liquidus
towards the peritectic point. At P, all the fosterite previously produced will react with the liquid
to produce crystals of enstatite.

After the reaction has gone to completion, there will still remain some liquid. With decrease in
temperature more crystals of enstatite will form and the liquid composition will change along the
liquidus towards the eutectic ( E). At E, crystals of quartz will begin to form and the temperature
will remain constant until all of the liquid is used up, leaving crystals of quartz and enstatite as
the final solids. The final crystallized product will contain more enstatite than quartz.

FRACTIONAL CRYSTALLIZATION

Up to this point we have been discussing equilibrium crystallization i.e all solids remains in
contact with the liquid until any reaction that takes place has run to completion. As is often the
case in natural system crystals can somehow become separated from the system so that they will
react at reaction point such as P.

This is the case of fractional crystallization, under fractional crystallization condition, the cooling
and crystallization history will be drastically different. In particular the rule that the final
composition must equal the initial composition will not be followed.

As an example of this phenomenon, we will examine that fractional crystallization of

composition X. furthermore; we will look at the case of perfect fractional crystallization. During
perfect crystallization of composition X, all of the fosterite that is precipitated will somehow be
moved from the system.

In nature, this can occur by the following mechanism:

 Gravitational crystal settling

 Filter pressing
 Crystal fractionation

Note that if only some of the crystals are removed from the liquid, we will have a case
intermediate between perfect fractional crystallization and equilibrium crystallization.

Cooling a liquid of composition X to the liquidus (1850) will cause fosterite to precipitate as
before. With further cooling, the liquid composition will change along the liquidus and more
fosterite will be precipitated. In this case however, all of the fosterite will be removed from the

59
system as it crystallize. Since the fosterite is no longer present, the composition of the system
will have the composition of the liquid. Therefore, when the temperature reaches the peritectic
temperature, there will be no fosterite available to react with the liquid and the liquid will have
the composition P. Thus the liquid will now precipitate crystals of enstatite and continue cooling
to the eutectic (E) where crystals of quartz will form the final crystalline product will consist of
quartz and enstatite.

60
 BOWEN’S REACTION SERIES

Early in the twentieth series, Noman conducted a series of experiment that determine the
sequence in which minerals crystallized in a cooling magma. The sequence became known as the
Bowen’s Reaction Series. His experiment shows that in a cooling magma, certain minerals are
stable at higher melting temperatures and crystallize before those stable at lower temperature.

The series comprises of two parts; a continuous and a discontinuous series.

Look at the discontinuous branch which contains only ferromagnesian minerals. We can see that
olivine

crystallize before pyroxene, pyroxene crystallize before hornblende.

Basalt & Gabbro

Ca rich
Olivine
plagioclase
Pyroxene

Hornblende
Biotite

Na rich
plagioclase Andesite & Diorite

Alkali
Feldspar
Rhyolite & Granite

Quartz

A complication is that, early formed crystals react with the remaining melt and do crystallize as
cooling proceeds. For instance, early formed olivine crystals react with the melt and recrystallize
to pyroxene when pyroxene temperature for crystallization is reached.

61
Upon further cooling, pyroxene reacts with the remaining melt to produce the next mineral in the
series. If all the melt is used up, before all of the pyroxenes recrystallizes to hornblende, the solid
rock will contain pyroxene and hornblende.

Crystallization in the continuous and discontinuous series takes place at the same time. The
continuous branch contain only plagioclase feldspar enrich either sodium or calcium atoms can
be accommodated in its crystal structure along with Al, Si, O2.

A composition of the plagioclase changes as magma is cooled and earlier formed crystals react
with the melt. The first plagioclase crystal to form as the magma cools contain calcium (Ca),
with little or no sodium (Na) as cooling continues, the early form crystal grow and incorporate
progressively more sodium into their crystal structure.

Any magma left after the crystallization is completed along the two branches is richer in silicon
than the original magma and also contain abundant potassium (K) and aluminium (Al). K and Al
combine with silicon to form potassium feldspars (if the water pressure is high muscovite may
also form at this stage). Excess SiO2 crystallizes as quartz.

From Bowen’s reaction series we can derive several important concept that are necessary to
understand igneous rock and igneous processes.

1. A mafic magma will crystallize into pyroxene (with or without olivine) and calcium- rich
plagioclase i.e basalt or gabbro. If the early form crystals are not removed from the
remaining magma.
Similarly, an intermediate magma will crystallize into diorite and andesite if earlier
formed minerals are not removed.
2. If minerals are separated from a magma, the remaining magma is more silicic than the
original magma. For example, if olivine and calcium-rich plagioclase are removed the
residual melt will be rich in silicon and sodium and poorer in iron and magnesium.
3. If you heat a rock, the minerals will melt in the reverse order. In other words we will be
going up the series.
4. Bowen’s reaction series can be used to show how to important processes that create and
modify magma composition work. These are differentiation and partial melting.

62