IGNEOUS ROCK TEXTURES

MAROTEXTURES

Texture

a. Size

b. Shape

c. Arrangement of interlocking crystals-

Grain orientation resulting due to flow

Primary textures: Occur during crystallization; due to mineral-melt

interaction

Secondary textures: Occur due to alterations after the formation of the

crystals and rock
Primary Textures
Form due to interaction of crystals with the melt

Formation and Growth of crystals due to:

Initial nucleation of crystal

Critical size of crystal nucleus must form -requires some degree of supersaturation or
undercooling
Crystals with lower degree of Si-O polymerization nucleate more easily

Subsequent crystal growth

Addition of ions on to existing crystal nuclei.

Diffusion of chemical species (and heat) to and from the surface of a growing crystal

Diffusion is faster at a higher temperature and in low-viscosity material

Cooling rate of magma (slow or fast or intermediate) controls formation of crystals

Undercooling: cooling of a melt below the true crystallization temperature of a mineral.

Igneous rock textures - principle

The fundamental principle behind igneous rock textures is that grain size is controlled
by cooling rate.

Thus, rapid cooling at the Earth’s surface of extrusive molten material, or lava, results
in the growth of smaller crystals, or prevents crystal growth altogether.

Conversely, slow cooling within the Earth’s crust of intrusive molten material, called
magma, results in the growth of fewer but larger crystals, because atoms are able
to migrate through the liquid to attach themselves to crystals that have already
begun to form.

The many igneous rock textures are simply variations on or modifications of this
principle.
• Idealized rates of crystal nucleation and
growth as a function of temperature
below the melting point.

• Slow cooling results in only minor

undercooling (Ta), so that rapid growth
and slow nucleation produce fewer
coarse-grained crystals.

• Rapid cooling permits more

undercooling (Tb), so that slower
growth and rapid nucleation produce
many fine-grained crystals.

• Very rapid cooling involves little if any

nucleation or growth (Tc) producing a
glass.

Igneous Extrusive or Volcanic rocks

These rocks, formed by cooling and solidification (not always

crystallization) of lava, are typically fine-grained, to the extent that
detailed analysis of the mineralogy of these rocks is only possible with
the high magnification of a petrographic microscope, or even higher
resolution techniques.

As we shall see in the file on igneous rock classification, the colour of the
rock is an important clue to its bulk or average composition, which
controls its mineralogy, and other clues may tell us what minerals are
present.
Aphanitic
Crystals are
uniformly fine-
grained and
interlocking, with
individual crystals
invisible to the
unaided eye.

This is the generic, base texture for most igneous extrusive rocks, the
fine-grained nature being a result of rapid cooling that prevents growth
of large crystals. Even with a hand lens, virtually nothing can be
identified, and such rocks can be very frustrating to deal with.

Rhyolite- aphanitic silicic = light-colored (pink, tan, lt gray)

Porphyritic

Large, evident
crystals called
phenocrysts [red
arrows] are
surrounded by an
aphanitic matrix or
groundmass [blue
arrows].

This texture represents two stage cooling. Slower cooling of magma

within the crust leads to growth of the phenocrysts, whose early growth
leads to the development of well-formed faces. Once erupted as lava,
the remaining liquid crystallizes as the aphanitic groundmass.

Porphyritic Andesite

Andesite- aphanitic intermediate (green, gray, red)

Vesicular
Vesicles are
simply bubbles
produced by
gases escaping
from lava as it
solidifies.

The vesicles [red arrows] are in a full range of sizes, enclosed in an

aphanitic groundmass [blue arrows]. The few slightly larger crystals
[green arrows] are of the mineral olivine, a common constituent of
Hawaiian basalt volcanic rocks such as this one.

Vesicles and
Xenoliths

This sample from

the previous slide
shows a more
complex face. The
red, blue, and
green arrows are
the same as in the
previous slide.

Volatiles dissolved in magma under high pressure within the Earth

escape when lava is erupted, like CO2 from soda pop. A xenolith
[literally, “foreign rock”, purple arrow] is a fragment of a previously
crystallized rock incorporated in the magma as it nears the surface.
Scoria – a Highly Vesicular Basalt

If basalt, which is a mafic [high Fe+Mg content, low silica content]

volcanic rock, is highly vesicular, then we have scoria, which for lack of
a better way to describe it, resembles the guts or interior of an Aero
chocolate bar. Note how the iron content in this chemically unstable
mafic rock weathers to produce a rust-coloured surface [brown arrows],
versus the greenish grey fresh surface [cut surface; green arrows].

Basaltic Scoria- aphanitic dark-colored with numerous vesicles

Pumice
This is an extremely
vesicular felsic [low
Fe+Mg, high silica
content] volcanic
rock. This material
will actually float on
water because it has
so many bubbles or
vesicles.

Gases do not escape easily from high viscosity [stiff] felsic lavas, and
so a light-coloured volcanic froth is produced. Pumice is used in the
cosmetic industry as an exfoliant, effective at removing calluses due to
the abrasive nature of the glass-hard frothy surface.

Rhyolite Pumice- frothy vesicular, light color

Amygdaloidal – With Filled Vesicles

It may be that a vesicular rock, such as this basalt [red arrows point to
vesicles set in the aphanitic groundmass highlighted by blue arrows],
has fluids circulating through the vesicles, from which minerals may
precipitate or crystallize. These deposits, with rounded outlines
reflecting their origin as bubble-filling, are called amygdules [purple
arrows]. Phenocrysts would be angular in outline.

Glassy

Very rapid cooling

may prevent crystal
growth altogether,
and we get natural
volcanic glass,
called obsidian.
Note the conchoidal
fracture [green
arrows] we would
expect for glass.

Note the contrast between the black fresh surface [yellow arrows] and the rusty
brown weathered surface [red arrows], which reveals the minor iron content
that stains the glass black. This is a black igneous rock whose colour index [%
mafic minerals] is nevertheless zero.
 Glassy
This texture is more
likely in felsic [high
silica content, not
necessarily as
quartz] lavas, which
are viscous or stiff.
This sharp natural
glass can be
fashioned into
effective weapon
tips.

Obsidian is an exception to the definition of rocks, which among other

things are aggregates of one or more minerals, which by definition are
crystalline solids. Glass is an amorphous solid, which means it lacks
the ordered arrangement of atoms that characterizes crystals.

Glassy texture: obsidian (really silicic rhyolite although dark-colored)

 Fragmental texture of andesitic volcanic breccia

Igneous Intrusive or Plutonic rocks

The coarse crystal size associated with slow cooling means that
the hand specimen properties of minerals can be easily
applied and exploited to identify the minerals present in the
rock.

This may extend as far as being able to recognize cleavage

intersection angles in the few crystals that may be favorably
oriented in the sample under consideration.
Phaneritic – With Evident Crystals

Igneous intrusive rocks have evident crystals [the Greek word phaneros
means visible or evident] that one can easily distinguish with the
unaided eye, even if one doesn’t have the skill to identify what minerals
they are. In these samples, one sees grey glassy quartz, black biotite
and amphibole, and cream-coloured potassium feldspar.

Phaneritic – the Igneous Intrusive Staple

Although these samples have smaller crystals than the previous two,
the individual crystals or mineral grains are still readily distinguished
without magnification. The coarse crystal size makes many igneous
intrusive rocks quite attractive, and they are also durable and
reasonably stable chemically. This makes them good choices for grave
markers and facing stone for buildings.
Phaneritic – Seeing Cleavage on Grains

The coarse grain size of phaneritic intrusive rocks allows us to see

cleavage faces developed on many grains. Essentially, when the rock is
stressed and breaks when samples are taken, many of the randomly
oriented crystals have their cleavage directions more or less parallel to
the face of the sample, and so they break along cleavage. This gives
excellent reflections [blue arrows] from potassium feldspar in this case.

Phaneritic
and
Porphyritic

Porphyritic
textures are
classically
developed in
extrusive rocks,
but it is not
restricted to them.

This mafic intrusive rock is called a gabbro, a mixture of pyroxene and

plagioclase feldspar. The bulk of the rock is phaneritic, with grains
approximately 1-2 mm across. However, there is a megacryst, a large
pyroxene crystal, whose extent is indicated by the yellow arrows.
Phaneritic and Porphyritic

The same specimen as in the previous slide, we take advantage of the

development of cleavage to highlight the megacryst [width indicated by
yellow arrow], which is somewhat obscure in the previous image. The
cleavage direction meets the surface of the specimen at something like
30 degrees, but the crystal still breaks along cleavage in a series of
several steps, which reflect at the same time.

Pegmatite

This term applies to

extremely coarse-
grained igneous
intrusive rocks,
usually of a felsic
composition. Some
restrict the term to
rocks with a grain
size exceeding 2
cm, but others allow
more latitude.

In the late stages of cooling, volatiles tend to be concentrated in the

magma. This lowers magma viscosity, accounting for the abnormally
large crystals. In this specimen, there are crystals of an unusual
turquoise variety of potassium feldspar called amazonite [red arrows].
 Pegmatite

Finer crystals on the

upper surface of the
specimen may
represent more
rapid cooling at the
exterior of the
intrusion; field data
could confirm this.

The large crystals [see cleavage face, yellow arrow] may be gem
quality crystals, often of minerals that are significant sources of unusual
elements such as lithium, fluorine, and boron. Pegmatites are thus
attractive as well as economically significant.

Igneous Rocks Orthoclase (pink)

Biotite
(shiny black
Plagioclase
flakes)
(white)

Quartz (gray,
transparent,
Hornblende (black
glassy-looking)
laths)

Granite- Coarse-grained (plutonic) silicic

 Igneous Rocks

Plagioclase
(white)

Hornblende (black)

Diorite- phaneritic intermediate “salt-and-pepper”

Igneous Rocks

Plagioclase (gray)

Pryoxene (blackish
green)

Gabbro- phaneritic mafic (dark)

 Igneous Rocks

Porphyritic Gabbro- coarse plagioclase phenocrysts in a fine-grained phaneritic groundmass

Igneous Rocks

Mafic xenoliths and silicic dike in granite