Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The average density of basalt is 2.9 g/cm 3, compared, for example, to granite’s typical density of 2.7 g/cm 3. [16] The viscosity of basaltic magma is relatively low—around 10 4 to 10 5 cP—similar to the viscosity of ketchup, but that is still several orders of magnitude higher than the viscosity of water, which is about 1 cP). [17]
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.
These rocks (diorite, andesite) are typically darker in colour than felsic rocks and somewhat more dense. Mafic rocks have a relatively low silica content and are composed mostly of pyroxenes, olivines and calcic plagioclase. These rocks (basalt, gabbro) are usually dark coloured, and have a higher density than felsic rocks.
The continental plates consist of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Less common is basalt, a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors. [23] Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes compacted together.
Hornblende and biotite were stable under the pressures and other conditions below the surface, but unstable at higher levels. In the ground-mass of these rocks, augite is almost universally present. But the plutonic representatives of the same magma, granite, and syenite contain biotite and hornblende far more commonly than augite. [36]
The calc-alkaline magma series is one of two main subdivisions of the subalkaline magma series, the other subalkaline magma series being the tholeiitic series. A magma series is a series of compositions that describes the evolution of a mafic magma, which is high in magnesium and iron and produces basalt or gabbro, as it fractionally crystallizes to become a felsic magma, which is low in ...
Oceanic: 5 – 10 km (3 – 6 mi) thick [4] and composed primarily of denser, more mafic rocks, such as basalt, diabase, and gabbro. The average thickness of the crust is about 15 – 20 km (9 – 12 mi). [5] Because both the continental and oceanic crust are less dense than the mantle below, both types of crust "float" on the mantle.
Earth cutaway from core to exosphere Geothermal drill machine in Wisconsin, USA. Temperature within Earth increases with depth. Highly viscous or partially molten rock at temperatures between 650 and 1,200 °C (1,200 and 2,200 °F) are found at the margins of tectonic plates, increasing the geothermal gradient in the vicinity, but only the outer core is postulated to exist in a molten or fluid ...