plutons
Underground magma bodies
Plutons are large bodies of igneous rock that formed when molten magma cooled slowly beneath the Earth's surface.
The term covers various intrusive formations—batholiths, stocks, laccoliths—distinguished by size and shape.
Granite is the most familiar rock found in plutons.
The Sierra Nevada batholith is one of North America's largest plutons.
Large underground igneous mass
cupola · country-rock · emplacement · chamber · intrusion · discordant · concordant · assimilation
Igneous rock, quartz-rich
Plate descending beneath another
- orogenyGeological mountain formation
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- asthenosphereDuctile upper mantle layer
- mantleCovering or wrap
collision · uplift · exhumation · erosion · unroofing · isostasy · metamorphism · regional
Molten rock underground
- meltChange from solid
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
- coolingLosing thermal energy
- solidificationTransition to firm state
differentiation · fractionation · convection · viscosity · temperature · pressure · depth · emplacement
batholith
Large underground igneous mass
boss · cupola · country-rock · emplacement · chamber · intrusion · discordant · concordant · assimilation · xenolith
granite
Igneous rock, quartz-rich
subduction
Plate descending beneath another
- orogenyGeological mountain formation
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- asthenosphereDuctile upper mantle layer
mantle · collision · uplift · exhumation · erosion · unroofing · isostasy · metamorphism · regional · Andean
magma
Molten rock underground
- meltChange from solid
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
- coolingLosing thermal energy
solidification · differentiation · fractionation · convection · viscosity · temperature · pressure · depth · emplacement · ascent
feldspar
Silicate mineral group
- quartzCrystalline silicon dioxide
- micaLayered silicate mineral
- hornblendeCalcium-iron amphibole mineral
biotite · pyroxene · olivine · magnetite · apatite · zircon · garnet · silicate · crystallization · mineral
plutonslava flows
Moving volcanic rock
obsidian · volcanic glass · pumice · tuff · volcanic rocks
plutonsevaporites
Minerals from dried waters
sedimentary rocks · metamorphic rocks · sandstone · sandstone formations · limestone
- plutonium bombAtomic weapon using heavy element
- weapons-grade plutoniumHighly enriched fissile element