Igneous rocks are found abundantly in the earth’s crust. Two processes lead to the formation of Igneous rocks. The first process results when the molten or liquid rock(magma) cools and crystallizes deep inside the earth thus forming the characteristic rocks. They can also be formed when the molten rock(lava) erupts from a volcano and hardens or crystallizes on the surface of the earth. These two processes lead to the formation of two separately characterized rocks from the same original substance. These variations include physical characteristics like the texture and the color which helps in identifying them. Grain size or texture is used to differentiate the two basic types of volcanic rocks. Texture reveals the size of the crystals and thus shows where the rock was formed. It explores the origin of the rocks.
Another parameter it shows is depend
...ent on how fast they cooled. Also, the texture can reveal the amount of gas that was trapped within the magma during the rock formation. Important to note is that texture does not tell how the rock feels. Rocks with coarse texture or large crystals reveal that the rock cooled slowly inside the earth (intrusive rocks). Examples are granite and diorite which are used as building material The other type of volcanic rock has fine texture (minuscule crystals). Their crystals are so because of the rapid cooling of lava on the earth’s surface. Because of this cooling on the land’s surface, they are known as extrusive or volcanic rocks. They may be vesicular during their formation (have trapped air.) examples are pumice, used in making lightweight concrete, and obsidian, employed in ornaments.
Reference
- Lutgens, F. K., Tarbuck, E. J.
& Tasa, D. (2008). Foundations of earth science. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
- John Locke essays
- 9/11 essays
- A Good Teacher essays
- A Healthy Diet essays
- A Modest Proposal essays
- A&P essays
- Academic Achievement essays
- Achievement essays
- Achieving goals essays
- Admission essays
- Advantages And Disadvantages Of Internet essays
- Alcoholic drinks essays
- Ammonia essays
- Analytical essays
- Ancient Olympic Games essays
- APA essays
- Arabian Peninsula essays
- Argument essays
- Argumentative essays
- Art essays
- Atlantic Ocean essays
- Auto-ethnography essays
- Autobiography essays
- Ballad essays
- Batman essays
- Binge Eating essays
- Black Power Movement essays
- Blogger essays
- Body Mass Index essays
- Book I Want a Wife essays
- Boycott essays
- Breastfeeding essays
- Bulimia Nervosa essays
- Business essays
- Business Process essays
- Canterbury essays
- Carbonate essays
- Catalina de Erauso essays
- Cause and Effect essays
- Cesar Chavez essays
- Character Analysis essays
- Chemical Compound essays
- Chemical Element essays
- Chemical Substance essays
- Cherokee essays
- Cherry essays
- Childhood Obesity essays
- Chlorine essays
- Classification essays
- Cognitive Science essays