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Alkaline magmas tend to show high titanium oxide (TiO 2) content, typically in excess of 3% by weight. Other incompatible elements, such as phosphorus and light rare earth elements, are also elevated. This is attributed to a very low degree of partial melting of the source rock, with only 5% or less of the source rock going into the magma melt. [3]
Calc-alkaline rocks are rich in alkaline earths (magnesia and calcium oxide) and alkali metals and make up a major part of the crust of the continents. The diverse rock types in the calc-alkaline series include volcanic types such as basalt , andesite , dacite , rhyolite , and also their coarser-grained intrusive equivalents ( gabbro , diorite ...
Alkaline rocks with an age close to 570 million years are common around the perimeters of many continental shields and are evidence of worldwide rifting at that time. [25] Closely allied to trachyte is the rock type called keratophyre, which is the sodium-rich-plagioclase equivalent of trachyte. [26]
The following is a list of rock types recognized by geologists. There is no agreed number of specific types of rock. Any unique combination of chemical composition, mineralogy, grain size, texture, or other distinguishing characteristics can describe a rock type. Additionally, different classification systems exist for each major type of rock. [1]
Plagioclase; dark minerals. 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 ...
Basanite is an aphanitic (fine-grained) igneous rock that is low in silica and enriched in alkali metals. Of its total content of quartz, feldspar, and feldspathoid (QAPF), between 10% and 60% by volume is feldspathoid and over 90% of the feldspar is plagioclase. Quartz is never present. This places basanite in the basanite/ tephrite field of ...
The tholeiitic magma series (/ ˌθoʊliˈaɪtɪk /) is one of two main magma series in subalkaline igneous rocks, the other being the calc-alkaline series. A magma series is a chemically distinct range of magma compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma into a more evolved, silica rich end member. Rock types of the tholeiitic ...
Granite. Granite (/ ˈɡrænɪt / GRAN-it) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) 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.