Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include basalt, diabase and gabbro. Mafic rocks often also contain calcium-rich varieties of plagioclase ...
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 ...
Peridotite, a type of ultramafic rock. Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are usually composed of greater than 90% mafic minerals (dark colored, high magnesium and iron content).
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.
A rock with over 90% mafic mineral content will be classified instead as an ultramafic rock. A gabbroic rock with less than 10% mafic mineral content will be classified as an anorthosite. [8] [13] A more detailed classification is based on the relative percentages of plagioclase, pyroxene, hornblende, and olivine. The end members are: [8] [13]
Beach pebble of variolitic pillow lava (varolite) from the Olympic Peninsula, Washington stateVariolites are mafic, igneous, and typically volcanic rocks, e.g. tholeiite, basalt or komatiite, that contain centimeter-scale spherical or globular structures, called varioles, in a fine-grained matrix.
Cataclasite – Rock found at geological faults – A rock formed by faulting; Eclogite – Metamorphic rock formed under high pressure; Gneiss – Common high-grade metamorphic rock; Granulite – Class of high-grade medium to coarse grained metamorphic rocks; Greenschist – Metamorphic rock – A mafic metamorphic rock dominated by green ...
Mafic intrusions (3 P) Pages in category "Mafic rocks" The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. A.