Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Alkali feldspar granite, some varieties of which are called 'red granite', [1] is a felsic igneous rock and a type of granite rich in the mineral potassium feldspar (K-spar). It is a dense rock with a phaneritic texture. The abundance of K-spar gives the rock a predominant pink to reddish hue; peppered with minor amounts of black minerals. [2] [3]
Mafic enclave in granite rock, at Yosemite National Park Granite forms from silica-rich ( felsic ) magmas. Felsic magmas are thought to form by addition of heat or water vapor to rock of the lower crust , rather than by decompression of mantle rock, as is the case with basaltic magmas. [ 19 ]
Felsic magmas and lavas have lower temperatures of melting and solidification than mafic magmas and lavas. Felsic rocks are usually light in color and have specific gravities less than 3. The most common felsic rock is granite. Common felsic minerals include quartz, muscovite, orthoclase, and the sodium-rich plagioclase feldspars (albite-rich).
Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to pick either cold or heat and trial for 20 minutes to see how one responds, he advises. “If there is not significant improvement, try the alternative to see ...
In a simplified compositional classification, igneous rock types are categorized into felsic or mafic based on the abundance of silicate minerals in the Bowen's Series. Rocks dominated by quartz, plagioclase, alkali feldspar and muscovite are felsic. Mafic rocks are primarily composed of biotite, hornblende, pyroxene and olivine.
The biotites in I-type granites are greener in general than those in S-type, both in hand sample and in plane polarized light. More mafic composition granites, those with a higher color index, contain more hornblende and biotite. [1] Hornblende is a typical I-type granite mineral which never occurs in S-type granite.
The mafic rocks also typically have a higher density than felsic rocks. The term roughly corresponds to the older basic rock class. [9] Mafic lava, before cooling, has a low viscosity, in comparison with felsic lava, due to the lower silica content in mafic magma. Water and other volatiles can more easily and gradually escape from mafic lava.
In the mafic rocks labradorite, anorthite, and bytownite prevail, being rich in lime and poor in silica, potash, and soda. Augite is the most common ferromagnesian in mafic rocks, but biotite and hornblende are on the whole more frequent in felsic rocks.