Rocks and Images

Igneous Rocks

Igneous rocks, also called volcanic rocks, are formed from melted rock that has cooled and solidified. When rocks are buried deep within the Earth, they melt because of the high pressure and temperature; the molten rock (called magma) can then flow upward or even be erupted from a volcano onto the Earth's surface. When magma cools slowly, usually at depths of thousands of feet, crystals grow from the molten liquid, and a coarse-grained rock forms. When magma cools rapidly, usually at or near the Earth's surface, the crystals are extremely small, and a fine-grained rock results. A wide variety of rocks are formed by different cooling rates and different chemical compositions of the original magma. Obsidian (volcanic glass), granite, basalt, and andesite porphyry are four of the many types of igneous rock.

Common igneous (volcanic rocks) are basalt, andesite, and rhyolite. When magmas crystallize deep underground they look different from volcanic rocks because they cool more slowly and, therefore, have larger crystals. Igneous rocks cooled beneath the Earth's surface are called intrusive rocks. The intrusive equivalents of basalt, andesite, and rhyolite are gabbro, diorite, and granite, respectively.

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