Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Understanding Earth
Chapter 5
28
Geology
Not Applicable
09/27/2005

Additional Geology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Intrusive Igneous Rock
Definition
rock that has forced its way into surrounding rock
Term
country rock
Definition
rock that surrounds intrusive igneous rock
Term
pyroclasts
Definition
form when broken pieces of lava are thrown high into the air
Term
volcanic ash
Definition
estremely small fragments, usually glass, that form when escaping gases force a fine spray of magma from a volcano
Term
pumice
Definition
a frothy mass of volcanic glass with a great number of vesticles (vesticles are holes that remain after trapped gas has escaped from the solidifying melt)
Term
obsidian
Definition
volcanic rock that contains only tiny vesicles and so is solid and dense
Term
porphyry
Definition
igneous rock that has a mixed texture in which large crystals "float" in a predominantly fine crystalline matrix
Term
basalt
Definition
an extrusive rock formed from lava
Term
granite
Definition
70% silica
Term
extrusive igneous rocks
Definition
rapid cooling of earth's surface produces the finely grained texture or glassy appearance of these
Term
felsic rock
Definition
rocks that are poor in iron and magnesium and rich in minerals that are high in silica
Term
rhyolite
Definition
the extrusive equivalent of granite
Term
intermediate igneous rocks
Definition
rocks that are neither as rich in silica as felsic rocks nor as poor in it as the mafic rocks
Term
granodiorite
Definition
a light-colored felsic rock that looks something like granite
Term
dacite
Definition
the volcanic equivalent of granodiorite
Term
felsic rocks
Definition
quartz, potassium felspar, plagioclase feldspar, muscovite (mica)
Term
mafic
Definition
biotite (mica), amphibole group, pyroxene group, olivine
Term
mafic rocks
Definition
rocks that are high in pyroxenes and olivines. relatively poor in silica but rich in magnesium and iron
Term
ultrafmafic
Definition
rocks that consist primarily of mafic minerals and contain less than 10% FELSPAR
Term
viscosity
Definition
the measure of a liquid's resistance to flow
Term
partial melting
Definition
occurs because the minerals that compose a rock melt at different temperatures
Term
decompression melting
Definition
produces the greatest volume of molten rock anywhere on earth
Term
magma chambers
Definition
magma-filled cavities in the lithosphere that form as ascending drops of melted rock push aside surrounding solid rock
Term
magmatic differentiation
Definition
a process by which rocks of varying composition can arise from a uniform parent magma
Term
fractional crystallization
Definition
the process by which the crystals formed in a cooling magma are segregated from the remaining liquid
Term
sill
Definition
tabular, sheetlike body formed by the injection of magma between parallel layers of preexisting bedded rock
Term
dikes
Definition
the major route of magma transport in the crust
Term
pegmatites
Definition
veins of extremely coarse-grained granite cutting across a much finer grained country rock
Supporting users have an ad free experience!