Igneous Rocks

1. Introduction
2. Forms and Structures of Igneous
Rocks
3. Textures of Igneous Rocks
4. Classification of Igneous Rocks
5. Crystallization of Magma
6. Processes of Formation of Igneous
Rocks
7. Different Types of Igneous Rocks
 Introduction

• Petrology: Branch of Earth Science

that deals with the origin,
structures, textures, composition
and classification of rocks.
• Rock: Any naturally formed, firm and
coherent aggregate of minerals that
constitutes part of the Earth crust.
 Introduction
A rock is a cohesive aggregate of one or
more minerals, glass, or organic matter

quartz

feldspar
hornblende
Introduction – 3 Types of Rocks
• According to their mode of formation, there are
three types of rocks:
– Igneous rocks (Latin "ignis" meaning "pertaining to
fire"): are formed by cooling and solidification of
molten rock material and typically represented by an
interlocking aggregate of silicate minerals.
 Introduction – 3 Types of Rocks
• According to their mode of formation, there are
three types of rocks:
– Sedimentary rocks (Latin "sedimentum" meaning
"settle"): are formed from particles of pre-existing
rocks by cementation or other processes at the Earth's
surface.
 Introduction – 3 Types of Rocks
• According to their mode of formation, there are
three types of rocks:
– Metamorphic rocks (Greek "meta" meaning "change"
and "morpho" meaning "form"): are formed within the
Earth's crust by solid-state transformation of pre-
existing rock (igneous, sedimentary or even
metamorphic) as a result of high temperature, high
pressure or both.
 Focus on Igneous Rocks
• Neptunism: 18th century German mineralogist Abraham
Werner proposed that all rocks were precipitated in
layers from a universal sea. Active volcanoes were
explained by burning of subterranean coal beds.
• Plutonic theory: the belief that igneous rocks originate as
molten rock material deep in the Earth.
• Magma: is the term used to describe naturally occurring
molten rock material beneath the Earth's surface.
Mobility of this liquid within the Earth is controlled by its
physical properties, density and viscosity.
• Lava: represents hot streams or sheets of magma that
flow over the Earth's surface.
 Igneous Rocks
• Formed from melts, either magma or lava
– Magma = molten rock below the surface (plutons).
– Lava = magma that is erupted onto the surface (lava flows).
• Igneous rocks comprise crystallized melts &
consolidated pyroclastic material.
• Igneous rocks are either…
– Intrusive: Intrusive (Plutonic) igneous rocks: are
produced by cooling and crystallization of magma
beneath the Earth's surface. Magma solidifies beneath the
earth’s surface  big crystals.
– Extrusive: Extrusive (Volcanic) igneous rocks: are
produced by rapid cooling and crystallization of magma
on the Earth's surface. Magma solidifies on the earth’s
surface  small or no crystals.
Intrusive vs. Extrusive
 How do Magmas Form?

• Minerals melt at different temperatures.

The fraction fo rock that has melted at a
given temperature is the partial melt.

• Pressure – equal compositions melt at a

higher temperature if the pressure is higher.

• Water – water tends to make rocks melt at

lower temperatures. Opposite of pressure
effect.
 Where do Magmas Form?
• The density of magma is less than solid rock. So it rises and
collects in large cavities called magma chambers.
• Plate tectonic environments where magma is produced:
– Mid-ocean ridges.
– Subduction zones.
– Mantle plumes.
 How Hot?
• Temperature of hottest erupting basaltic lavas
between 1000°C and 1350°C.

• Felsic lavas are about 650-800°C.

• Mafic lavas/magmas tend to be hotter…

– Melting point of basalt is about 1250°C
– Melting point of granite is about 700°C.
 Crystallization
• Formation of crystals from a melt.

• Liquids have lots of entropy (disorder) due to

temperature  kinetic energy (movement) of atoms
and molecules.

• Solids, especially, crystals have less entropy

because of their ordered, fixed internal structures.

• Entropy lost as temperature is decreased.

• Crystallization begins when atoms, by chance, bond

together to form nuclei. Other atoms will follow…
 Crystallization

Remaining
Magma is
Basaltic
Andesitic Magma
 Crystallization in a Magma Chamber

magma composition progressively changes as crystal are

“removed” from the magma.
 Igneous Chemistry
• Felsic = > 65% SiO2
– lots of Na, K, Al but little Mg, Fe, Ca
– e.g. continental crust; granite

• Intermediate = 53 - 65% SiO2

– e.g. subduction zone volcanic rocks; andesite

• Mafic = 45 - 52% SiO2

– lots of Mg, Fe, Ca but silica poor
– e.g. oceanic crust; basalt

• Ultramafic = < 45% SiO2

– e.g. mantle
 Igneous Compositions

• The type of rock that melts and/or the

composition of the parent magma
determines the chemistry of the rock that
crystallizes.

• Other processes affect this too…

– Crystallization sequence of minerals
– Crystal settling
– Assimilation
– Magma mixing
 Bowen’s Reaction Series
• Helps understand how you can get intermediate and
mafic rocks from mafic magmas.

• When a melt cools, different minerals crystallize at

different temperatures!

• Minerals that cool at nearly the same temperatures

tend to occur together in rocks. Only certain minerals
can occur together.

• If you remove the minerals that have crystallized at a

certain temperature, you change the overall chemistry
of the system…
Bowen’s Reaction Series
Discontinuous Series
• Only ferromagnesian.
• One mineral changes to
next as temperature
slowly drops.
• Each change is a
chemical reaction
between solids
(crystals) and fluids
(melt, water, gas)
present at the time.
• Reactions not always
complete.
Bowen’s Reaction Series
Continuous Series
• Nonferromagnesian
plagioclase feldspar (Ca
to Na)
• As magma cools, Ca-
rich plagioclase reacts
with melt and
proportionally more Na-
rich plagioclase
crystallizes
• Continues until all Ca
and Na is used up.
• Plagioclase is often,
therefore, zoned with Ca
rich core and Na rich
rims.
 Bowen’s Reaction Series
Felsic Minerals
• Not really part of
series.
• As Mg, Fe, Ca, and
Na are used up, left
over magma has
more and more
SiO2, K, Al, water,
and other exotic
stuff (U).
• Form K feldspars,
Increasing muscovite, quartz,
Si accessory
content minerals.
Differentiation of Magma
• Magma chemistry isn’t static or
homogenous. Processes upset the
normal Bowen sequence.
– Crystal Settling
– Assimilation
– Magma Mixing
– Partial Melting

• We need these processes (and

others) to get felsic rocks from mafic
magmas
 Differentiation of Magma
• Crystal settling (fractional crystallization) is the
physical separation of the minerals from the melt.
Minerals crystallize and sink to the bottom of the
magma chamber. Examples: layered intrusions.

• Separate the melt from solid  change the chemistry

of the melt (more Si rich). Ok!

• But not good enough…For one unit of granite, need

10 of the mafic melt! Not enough mafic intrusive
rocks in continental crust…

• Also it takes a long time for crystals to settle…too

long.
Differentiation of Magma
Intrusive Igneous Rock Bodies
• Magmas crystallized beneath the Earth's
surface form intrusive bodies of igneous rock
known as plutons.
• The term pluton (after the Greek god Pluto)
refers to any igneous intrusion regardless of
size, shape or composition of the magma.
• Classification of plutons is based on:
1. Geometry of intrusion: size and shape
• 2. Relationship to surrounding rocks:
– concordant or boundaries parallel to layering in
surrounding rocks
– discordant or boundaries cut across layering in
surrounding rocks
Intrusive Igneous Rock Bodies
Intrusive Igneous Rock Bodies
 Concordant Igneous Bodies

Sill: A sill is a
concordant body, few
cm to >1 km thick,
produced when
magma is injected
between layers of
older sedimentary or
volcanic rock, and
are generally
composed of
intermediate to basic
composition magma.
 Concordant Igneous Bodies

• Laccolith: A laccolith
represents magma
that pushes overlying
rock layers upward to
form a condordant,
mushroom-shaped,
sill-like body,
typically comprising
magma of
intermediate to
granitic composition.
 Concordant Igneous Bodies

• Lopolith: A lopolith is a spoon-like shaped

concordant body similar to a sill except the
floor and roof sag downward. The intrusions
are generally magma of intermediate to basic
composition.
• Phacolith
Discordant Igneous Bodies

Dike: A dike is a discordant body, few

cm to >100 m thick, produced when
magma is injected along fractures in
surrounding rock layers. Dikes ftypically
form from magmas of basic to granitic
composition. Ring and Radial dikes are
discordant bodies having either a
concentric (circular) or radial
distribution; develop above a large
subsurface intrusive body (batholith or
stock) or adjacent to volcanic pipes or
 Discordant Igneous Bodies

Batholith: A batholith is a discordant magma body with

exposed surface area of more than 100 square kilometers;
typically consists of multiple intrusions. Batholith are
usually magma of granitic composition with minor
intermediate varieties. These magma chambers did not
intrude the country rock,rather they melted their way into it
by the process of stoping.
 Discordant Igneous Bodies

Stock: A stock is a discordant magma body with exposed

surface area of less than 100 square kilometers; may
represent exposed portion of a much larger intrusion. It is
usually magma of granitic composition with minor intermediate
varieties.
 Discordant Igneous Bodies
Volcanic pipes and
necks: are discordant
bodies that represent
the upper part of the
conduit that connects
the volcanic vent
(crater) with an
underlying magma
source (magma
chamber or reservoir).
Volcanic necks are
erosional remnants of
magma that solidified in
the pipe or conduit.
 Extrusive Igneous Rocks
• Forms of Lava
• Block Lava slow-flowing, with large blocks of semi-
solidified lava
• Ropy Lava (pahoehoe): ropy texture, as though flowing
stream frozen in place
• Pillow Structures Lava, typical of submarine mid-ocean
ridge basalts (MORBs), extruded into water and quickly
chilled.
• Flow Structure: "flow" of very hot gases mixed with
glowing red (hot) solid material and very little liquid that
together flow down slope from vent.
• Vesicular Structure: small cavities formed as result of
escape of gas
• Amygdaloidal Structure: when the vesicles are filled with
secondary materials.
Extrusive Igneous Rocks
1. Lava - (magma
that flows on
surface)

2. Pyroclastic Material
- (magma ejected
into the
atmoshere)
Extrusive Igneous Rocks
Lava Flows – (commonly basaltic)

Basaltic flows
Extrusive Igneous Rocks
Types of Basaltic Lava

1. Aa – (degassed,
more viscous)

2. Pahoehoe –
(“ropey”, less
viscous b/c
has dissolved
gas)
Pahoehoe – (Hawaii)
Pahoehoe Lava
A’a Lava
Pillow Lava
• Mounds of elongate lava
"pillows" formed by
repeated oozing and
quenching of the hot
basalt.

• First, a flexible glassy crust

forms around the newly
extruded lava, forming an
expanded pillow. Next,
pressure builds until the
crust breaks and new
basalt extrudes like
toothpaste, forming
another pillow.
 Lava Lakes
• Large volumes of molten lava,
usually basaltic, contained in a
vent, crater, or broad
depression.

• Active lava lakes have a

partially solidified shiny gray
crust (5-30 cm thick; a few
minutes or hours old) formed
by lava constantly cooled by
the atmosphere.

• Crust continually circulates,

breaks, and sinks into the
moving molten lava below. The
pattern of movement looks like
plate tectonics!
Lava Lake
 Lava Fountain
 Jet of lava sprayed 10
to 500 m into the air by
the rapid formation and
expansion of gas
bubbles.
Lava Channels
 Narrow, curved or straight
open pathways through
which lava moves on the
surface of a volcano.

 Some of the lava congeals

and cools along the banks
to form natural levees that
may eventually enable the
lava channel to build a few
meters above the
surrounding ground.
Pressure Ridges
As surface of a
flow solidifies, it
“protects” the lava
in the channel,
allowing it to
continue to flow.

The crust
becomes buckled
and cracked due
to the flow, and
develops an up-
warped and
fractured ridge…
Lava Tubes
 Underground lava conduits

 Form by the crusting over

of lava channels and flows.
If supply of lava stops, lava
in the tube system drains
downslope leaving empty
tubes.

 Commonly exhibit "high-

lava" marks, flat floors, and
lava stalactites that hang
from the roof.
Lava Tubes
Spatter Cones
Very fluid fragments of molten
lava ejected from a vent that
flatten and congeal on the
ground.
Spatter will build walls of
solidified lava around a single
vent to form a circular-shaped
spatter cone or along both sides
of a fissure to build a spatter
rampart.
 Texture of Igneous Rocks
• Texture refers to variations in the sizes and
shapes of mineral grains in a rock, and the type of
relationships between the grains. Texture is
determined by:
– Rate of Cooling - a primary control on texture,
determines the relative rate of crystal nucleation and
growth.
• 1. slow cooling - few large crystals produced by growth
rate greater than nucleation rate
• 2. rapid cooling - many small crystals produced by
nucleation rate greater than growth rate
• 3. quench - glass produced where ions have no time to
organize into crystals
 Texture of Igneous Rocks
• Magma composition and Temperature - control magma
density and magma viscosity (or its internal
resistance to flow)
– 1. high silica melts are viscous and crystallize at low
temperatures (<850ûC). Ions have difficulty migrating through
liquid and organizing into crystals
– 2. low silica melts are fluid (low viscosity) and have high
temperatures (850û-1200ûC). Ions easily migrate through
liquid and organize into crystals
– 3. higher silica content, the higher the viscosity
– 4. higher temperature, the lower the viscosity
– 5. Gas content of magma - High gas content reduces
viscosity, leading to larger crystals even at low temperatures.
 Igneous Textures
• Generally igneous rocks
have interlocking crystals.
• Details of texture
controlled by how they
crystallized e.g. the
cooling rate.
• Extrusive rocks usually
cool quickly  small
crystals (aphanitic) or no
crystals (glass)
• Intrusive rocks usually
cool slowly  big crystals
have time to form
(phaneritic).
aphanitic

phaneritic
 Igneous Textures
• Porphyritic
textures are a
mix. 2
populations of
mineral grains
– Some very large
phenocrysts
within…
– A fine grained
groundmass.
 Igneous Textures

• If a magma/lava
is quenched
very rapidly,
there is no time
to form crystals.
Instead, you get
a semi-ordered,
amorphous
solid (glass).
 Igneous Textures
• Vesicular textures
have holes, pores, or
cavities resulting
from the expansion of
gas dissolved in the
melt.

• Vesicular basalt is
common. Pumice
and scoria are also
common types of
vesicular rocks
(“frothy glass”).
 Igneous Textures

• Fragmental
textures
characterize
pyroclastic igneous
rocks. Made of
numerous grains or
fragments (glass,
ash, pumice, etc.)
that have been
welded together by
the heat of volcanic
eruption.
 Classification
• Based on composition and texture.
• For each compositional type, there are two names, one for
the extrusive (aphanitic) and one for the intrusive
(phaneritic) equivalent.
 Extrusive and Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Basalt

Granite
 Compositional Classifications

• Ultramafic – largely ferromagnesian, < 45% Si

• Mafic – 45 - 52% Si

• Intermediate – 53 - 65 % Si

• Felsic – largely nonferromagnesian, > 65% Si

Compositional Classifications
 Ultramafic Rocks
• Intrusive: peridotite
– Mostly olivine, some
pyroxene, a little Ca
plagioclase
• Intrusive: pyroxenite
– Mostly pyroxene
• Dark green rocks in the upper
mantle.

• Rare extrusive ultramafics…

– Komatiites were erupted
only in the Precambrian
(2.5 Ga).
– Very mafic, very low
viscosity (like water!), very
hot (1600°C)
Mafic Rocks
• Intrusive: gabbro
• Extrusive: basalt

• Ca-rich plagioclase +
pyroxene + some olivine
+ some amphibole

• Dark colored
• Basalt is most common
extrusive igneous rock.
Oceanic crust is made of
basalt and gabbro.
Intermediate Rocks

• Intrusive: diorite
• Extrusive: andesite

• Plagioclase + amphibole
+ biotite

• Medium to dark gray

(andesite); salt and
pepper (diorite)
• Common in volcanoes at
subduction zones (mix of
oceanic and continental
melts).
Felsic Rocks
• Intrusive: granite
• Extrusive: rhyolite (usually
pyroclastics, not flows)

• K-feldspar + Na-
plagioclase + quartz +
some biotite + some
amphibole + some
muscovite + accessories.

• Light colored (pink, white).

• Essentially the
composition of the
continents.
Pegmatite

• Very coarse
intrusives
(usually
granitic).
– Interaction of
water and gas
phases with
melt.
– Last dregs of a
magma.
– Get very
interesting
(and valuable)
IGNEOUS ROCKS: Intrusive rocks

Diorite

Granite Gabbro
IGNEOUS ROCKS: Extrusive rocks

Basalt Obsidian

Pumice Porphyry
Igneous Activity and Plate Tectonics
 Divergent Margin Volcanism
 Convergent Margin Volcanism
 Hot Spot Volcanism
Global Distribution of Active Volcanoes
Magmatism and Tectonics
Subduction Zone Convergent Boundaries

“Flux melting” of mantle above subducting plate

produces basaltic magmas
Rock Types and Plate Boundaries
 Metal Resources (Ores)
• Metals must be concentrated into ore bodies, such that
they are economical to extract.
Native Copper

Native Gold