CEEES/SC
10111-20111
Planet Earth
Igneous Rocks
Laboratory
Click here for a PDF file of
the lab manual chapter for the Lab.
Igneous rocks are the products formed when magma
crystallizes.
Extrusive igneous rocks – erupted
at the surface and cool quickly.
Intrusive igneous rocks - emplaced
at depth as plutons and
cool slowly.
Intrusive rocks of medium grain size are called hyperbyssal.
Texture
Cooling rate determines grain size:
Extrusive = fine
grained (many small grains) – individual crystals cannot be identified
with the naked eye and this general texture is termed Aphanitic.;
Intrusive = coarse
grained (few large grains > 1 mm) – all crystals are large enough to
be seen
without a hand lens and this general texture is termed Phaneritic.
If cooling is extremely rapid, crystals do not have a
chance to form and the rock is Glassy.
Other Textures
If cooling is extremely slow and the water content of
the magma is elevated, extremely large crystals (> 3 cm) develop
and such rocks are called Pegmatites and the texture is Pegmatitic.
An igneous rock with two different sizes is termed Porphyritic: larger crystals
= Phenocrysts; smaller crystals = Groundmass.
Gas bubbles in
lava
don’t pop or escape. The voids left are termed Vesicles and the texture is
termed Vesicular.
If the vesicles in some extrusive rocks are filled by
secondary minerals (calcite, silica, etc), the filled vesicles are
called Amydules and the
texture is termed Amygdaloidal.
Pyroclastic Texture
= fragmental texture formed by explosive eruptions. As the material
falls to the ground, deposits containing shattered volcanic glass,
rock, and
mineral fragments (collectively termed Pyroclasts)
form and are called Tuffs.
Mafic magmas can eject pieces of magma that become streamlinedand cool
as they move through air, falling as Volcanic
Bombs.
Mineral Composition and Rock Color
Mafic Rocks:
contain a lot of ferromagnesian (Fe-Mg rich) minerals = dark color.
Felsic Rocks:
contain a lot of feldspars and quartz = light minerals.
Mafic rocks crystallize from hotter magmas than
felsic rocks (see Bowen’s Reaction Series).
See Table 3.1 for
Recognizing Minerals in Igneous Rocks in conjunction with these words.
Classification of Igneous Rocks can be conducted
through Mineralogy or Bulk Composition (i.e., Silica content).
Igneous Rocks and Plate
Tectonics
Laboratory Specimens:
Granite
Diorite
Gabbro
Rhyolite
Pumice
Obsidian
Scoria
Vesicular Basalt
Andesite
Porphyritic Basalt
Dunite
Basaltic Volcanic Bomb
Amygdaloidal
Basalt
Pegamatite