Skip to main content
Geosciences LibreTexts

6: Igneous Rocks and Silicate Minerals

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
  • Page ID
    17515

    • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    7.79.png
    Figure 6.1: Xenoliths in basalt from San Carlos, Arizona. The brown xenolith contains olive-green olivine and brown orthopyroxene. The green xenolith contains light green olivine, (minor) emerald-green clinopyroxene, and darker orthopyroxene.

    KEY CONCEPTS

    • Igneous minerals crystallize from a magma to form igneous rocks.
    • Magmas have variable compositions giving rise to many different kinds of rocks containing different minerals.
    • Cooling rate affects crystal size and rock texture.
    • Minerals crystallize in an orderly and predicable way during magma cooling.
    • Silicates are the most important minerals in igneous rocks.
    • We classify silicates based on the arrangement and ordering of SiO4 tetrahedra within them.
    • Different silicate minerals have distinctive properties, atomic arrangements, and origins.

    This page titled 6: Igneous Rocks and Silicate Minerals is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Dexter Perkins via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.