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Igneous rock (igneous from Latin igneus 'fiery'), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet 's mantle or crust.
Trachyte (/ ˈtreɪkaɪt, ˈtræk -/) is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, [1] and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrusions) enriched with silica and alkali metals. [2][3][4] It is the volcanic ...
Thunderegg. A thunderegg from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada that has been cut in half. A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule -like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers. [1] Thundereggs are rough spheres, most about the size of a baseball —though they can range from a little more than a ...
Granite (/ ˈ ɡ r æ n ɪ t / GRAN-it) is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous ...
Mineral assemblage of igneous rocks. Diorite (/ ˈdaɪ.əraɪt / DY-ə-ryte) [1][2] is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silica (mafic) gabbro and high-silica ...
Claystone – Clastic sedimentary rock composed primarily of clay-sized particles. Coal – Combustible sedimentary rock composed primarily of carbon. Conglomerate – Sedimentary rock composed of smaller rock fragments. Coquina – Sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of fragments of shells.
Gneiss. Metamorphic rock. Sample of gneiss exhibiting "gneissic banding". Gneiss (/ naɪs / nice) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under pressures anywhere from 2 ...
Category. : Igneous rocks. Volcanoes portal. Igneous rocks include rocks that have solidified from a melt ( magma) either below the surface of a planet or natural satellite as intrusives or on the surface as extrusives or volcanic eruptions. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Igneous rocks.