What is the difference between mafic and felsic rocks?
Either in describing rocks or lava, mafic means that the lava or rock has less silica while felsic implies that the lava or rock has the most silica.
What type of rock is felsic?
In geology, felsic is a modifier describing igneous rocks that are relatively rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz. It is contrasted with mafic rocks, which are relatively richer in magnesium and iron.
What rocks are mafic?
Common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite mica, and the plagioclase feldspars. Mafic magmas are usually produced at spreading centers, and represent material which is newly differentiated from the upper mantle. Common mafic rocks include basalt and gabbro.
What is an intermediate igneous rock?
Igneous Rocks by Composition Intermediate rocks are roughly even mixtures of felsic minerals (mainly plagioclase) and mafic minerals (mainly hornblende, pyroxene, and/or biotite). There is little or no quartz.
What is the difference between felsic mafic and intermediate magma?
Felsic rocks are commonly oversaturated and contain free quartz (SiO2), intermediate rocks contain little or no quartz or feldspathoids (undersaturated minerals), and mafic rocks may contain abundant feldspathoids.
Where are intermediate rocks found?
Intermediate rocks are produced primarily in convergent plate boundaries in which an oceanic plate is subducting beneath either another oceanic plate (such as in Japan) or a continental plate (such as along the Andes Mountains of South America).
What is intermediate magma?
Intermediate magma is liquefied rock with a silica content higher than mafic magma, but also lower than felsic magma. In general, the silica content of intermediate magma is around 60 percent silicate minerals.
What is the difference between intermediate and felsic?
In a widely accepted silica-content classification scheme, rocks with more than 65 percent silica are called felsic; those with between 55 and 65 percent silica are intermediate; those with between 45 and 55 percent silica are mafic; and those with less than 45 percent are ultramafic.
What is an example of an intermediate rock?
Typical intermediate rocks include andesite, dacite and trachyandesite among volcanic rocks and diorite and granodiorite among plutonic rocks.
Where are felsic rocks found?
Felsic rocks are mostly found within and on Earth’s continental crust because of the lighter and less dense elements and minerals that compose them.
What rocks are intermediate?
What is intermediate igneous rock?
What are the intermediate mafic?
Mafic rocks are dominated by plagioclase and pyroxene (even if you can’t see them with the naked eye) and smaller amounts of olivine. Intermediate rocks are roughly even mixtures of felsic minerals (mainly plagioclase) and mafic minerals (mainly hornblende, pyroxene, and/or biotite). There is little or no quartz.
What is the intermediate igneous rock?
Is granite an intermediate rock?
1: Granite is a classic coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock. The different colors are unique minerals. The black colors are likely two or three different minerals. If magma cools slowly, deep within the crust, the resulting rock is called intrusive or plutonic.
Is basalt felsic?
Granite and rhyolite are considered felsic, while basalt and gabbro are mafic (click here for more information on mafic and felsic).
Is basalt intermediate?
Compilations of many rock analyses show that rhyolite and granite are felsic, with an average silica content of about 72 percent; syenite, diorite, and monzonite are intermediate, with an average silica content of 59 percent; gabbro and basalt are mafic, with an average silica content of 48 percent; and peridotite is …
How are mafic minerals different from felsic minerals?
• Mafic rocks are rich in iron and magnesium, whereas Felsic rocks are rich in silica and aluminum. • Mafic rocks are denser and heavier than Felsic rocks. • Mafic rocks are darker in color than Felsic rocks. • Lava made up of Felsic rocks is slow moving and has a higher viscosity than Mafic lava.
Why are felsic rocks light colored?
Why are felsic rocks light colored? Felsic refers to silicate minerals, magma, and rocks which are enriched in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium. Felsic magma or lava is higher in viscosity than mafic magma/lava. Felsic rocks are usually light in color and have specific gravities less than 3.
What is the definition of felsic rock?
In geology, felsic is an adjective describing igneous rocks that are relatively rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz. It is contrasted with mafic rocks, which are relatively richer in magnesium and iron.
What is felsic in geology?
QAPF diagram