Igneous Rocks

√
• Molten rock cools  mass of
intergrown crystals and/or glass!
– Crystalline/glassy textures!
 Magma!
• Below the earth’s surface molten rock
= magma
– Molten rock, dissolved gasses, growing
crystals (as the magma cools)
• Magma under pressure
– Less dense than surrounding rocks
– Rises/squeezes into cooler crust
 *Magma pushing itself into crust =
Intrusion
  Cools to form intrusive igneous
rock (visible crystals, coarse
 Magma  Lava
• Magma approaches earth’s surface
• Decrease in pressure
• Bubbles of carbon dioxide – dissolved
gasses separate from magma 
Lava
• Erupts onto Earth’s surface 
Extrusive Igneous Rock
– Fine-grained, tiny crystals/glass
 Intrusions
• Batholiths – massive, 100km^2 +,
small bodies amalgamate
• Sills – sheet-like, in between layers of
bedrock
• Laccoliths – smaller pools
• Pipes – Feed volcanoes!
• Dikes – cut across layers of bedrock
in sheets
– Ring dikes – look circular from above
– Radial dikes – come off of pipes
 Textures of Igneous Rocks
• Classify and infer origin
• Mineral size  cooling rates,
availability of chemicals for crystals
– Large crystals  long time  slow
cooling
• phaneritic (1-10mm), pegmatitic
(>1cm)
– Tiny crystals  short time  quick
cooling
• Aphanitic (<1mm)
– Volcanic glass (no crystals) 
instantaneous!
Phaneritic

Pegmatitic

Aphanitic
 Other Textures
• Vesicular Texture – bubble
trapped in cooling lava
• Pyroclastic Texture – volcanic ash
to blocks
• Porphyritic – Phenocrysts and
matrix
–Can indicate slow to fast cooling
–Changes in magma
composition/viscosity
 Minerals in Igneous Rocks
• Type and abundance of minerals
• 8 Rock-Forming Minerals
– Quartz, potassium feldspar (K-spar),
plagioclase feldspar, muscovite
mica, biotite mica, amphibole,
pyroxene and olivine.
– Light colored  felsic (feldspars,
silica)
– Dark colored  mafic (magnesium,
iron)
• Aka ferromagnesian
 Identification Process
• Steps 1 and 2: Color and Mineral
Composition
– Estimate the % of mafic minerals in
the rock
– Identify the minerals and estimate
their percent by volume within the
whole rock
– Can use GeoTools
• Step 3: Texture
– Intrusive? Extrustive? Phaneritic?
Glassy?
 More on the color index….
• Color Index (CI) – estimates the
proportion of mafic and felsic
mineral crystals in igneous rock
– Requires both CI and specific mineral
IDs
• Felsic – CI 0-15 or 0-15% mafic
• Intermediate – CI 16-45 or 16-45%
mafic
• Mafic – CI 46-85 or 46-85% mafic
minerals
Rhyolite (felsic)

Pumice (felsic)
Phonolite
(Intermediate)

Diorite
(Intermediate)
Pyroxene (Mafic)

Chromite (ultramafic)
 Bowen’s Reaction Series
• Modeling how different kinds of
igneous rocks can differentiate
from a single body of magma as it
cools
• Periodite  Melt rocks at 1200-1400
deg C
– Allow it to cool
– Note the crystals forming at
 each temperature
– Sudden cooling
• Continuous crystallization
series and a discontinuous
 Bowen’s Series
• Discontinuous series
– When a mafic mineral forms at high
temperature, it reacts with the
magma at a lower temperature to
produce a different mineral!
– Olivine  replaced by pyroxene 
etc.
• Continuous series
– Calcium-rich gets replaced by sodium-
rich
• Lowest temperatures – Last
crystallization
 Composite Volcanoes
(Stratovolcanoes)
• Formed by alternating layers of
molten rock and rock fragments
• Usually conical, peak shaped
• Explosive eruptions
– Viscous magma  increases pressure
Mt. Shasta, CA
 Shield Volcanoes
• Generally expansive in size
• Lava spills out of vent(s)
• Low explosivity
• Characteristic by hotspots – ring of
fire
 Today’s Lab…..
• Use characteristics to ID 8 igneous
rock samples
• Answer questions pertaining to
photos in the lab book
• Answer questions concerning
volcanoes!
 2

1 3
What type of volcano is
this?

Give three pieces of

evidence!

Describe a typical eruption

for this volcano.