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Volcanic rocks are named according to both their chemical composition and texture. Basalt is a very common volcanic rock with low silica content. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock with high silica content. Rhyolite has silica content similar to that of granite while basalt is compositionally equal to gabbro.
Dacite from the Lassen Volcano National Park. Dacite (/ ˈ d eɪ s aɪ t /) is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite.
Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock, formed from magma rich in silica that is extruded from a volcanic vent to cool quickly on the surface rather than slowly in the subsurface. It is generally light in color due to its low content of mafic minerals, and it is typically very fine-grained ( aphanitic ) or glassy .
The amount of silica that constitutes a silicic rock is usually defined as at least 63 percent. [1] Granite and rhyolite are the most common silicic rocks . Silicic is the group of silicate magmas which will eventually crystallise a relatively small proportion of ferromagnesian silicates , such as amphibole , pyroxene , and biotite .
In some cases, felsic volcanic rocks may contain phenocrysts of mafic minerals, usually hornblende, pyroxene or a feldspar mineral, and may need to be named after their phenocryst mineral, such as 'hornblende-bearing felsite'. The chemical name of a felsic rock is given according to the TAS classification of Le Maitre (1975). However, this only ...
The types of minerals present in volcanic ash are dependent on the chemistry of the magma from which it erupted. Considering that the most abundant elements found in silicate magma are silicon and oxygen, the various types of magma (and therefore ash) produced during volcanic eruptions are most commonly explained in terms of their silica content.
The lava is usually dacitic or rhyolitic, rich in silica. Basaltic, low-silica lavas rarely produce Plinian eruptions unless specific conditions are met (low magma water content <2%, moderate temperature, and rapid crystallization); [3] a recent basaltic example is the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera on New Zealand's North Island. [4]
Cinder Hill, a feature of Mount Bird on Ross Island, Antarctica, is a prominent example of a dissected volcano. Volcanoes that were, on a geological timescale, recently active, such as for example Mount Kaimon in southern Kyūshū, Japan, tend to be undissected. Devils Tower in Wyoming is a famous example of exposed volcanic plug.