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The name diorite (from Ancient Greek διορίζειν, "to distinguish") was first applied to the rock by René Just Haüy [10] on account of its characteristic, easily identifiable large crystals of hornblende. [4] Dioritoids form a family of rock types similar to diorite, such as monzodiorite, quartz diorite, or nepheline-bearing diorite ...
Diorite – Igneous rock type Napoleonite, also known as corsite – Variety of diorite with orbicular structure; Dunite – Ultramafic and ultrabasic rock from Earth's mantle which is made of the mineral olivine; Essexite – Igneous rock type; Foidolite – Igneous rock rich in feldspathoid minerals; Gabbro – Coarse-grained mafic intrusive rock
The individual crystals in an aphanitic igneous rock are not distinguishable to the naked eye. Examples of aphanitic igneous rock include basalt , andesite , and rhyolite . Glassy or vitreous textures occur during some volcanic eruptions when the lava is quenched so rapidly that crystallization cannot occur.
Soil conditions produce uniform or gradual color changes, while reducing environments result in disrupted color flow with complex, mottled patterns and points of color concentration. Sometimes, a distinct change in color within a soil profile indicates a change in the soil parent material or mineral origin.
Hornblende has a hardness of 5–6, a specific gravity of 3.0 to 3.6, and is typically an opaque green, dark green, brown, or black color. It tends to form slender prismatic to bladed crystals, diamond-shaped in cross section, or is present as irregular grains or fibrous masses. [7] Its planes of cleavage intersect at 56° and 124° angles.
The change in the particle size of the rock during the process of metamorphism is called recrystallization. For instance, the small calcite crystals in the sedimentary rock limestone and chalk change into larger crystals in the metamorphic rock marble. [12]
Hexagonal sheets of the clay mineral kaolinite (SEM image, 1,340× magnification). Clay is a very fine-grained geologic material that develops plasticity when wet, but becomes hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing.
The name comes from two related rocks to which granodiorite is an intermediate: granite and diorite. The gran-root comes from the Latin grānum for "grain", an English language derivative. Diorite is named after the contrasting colors of the rock.