Which of these is a mafic mineral?

A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include basalt, diabase and gabbro.

Which minerals are mafic?

mafic rock, in geology, igneous rock that is dominated by the silicates pyroxene, amphibole, olivine, and mica. These minerals are high in magnesium and ferric oxides, and their presence gives mafic rock its characteristic dark colour.

What is the most mafic mineral?

Mafic Minerals and Rocks

Remember that igneous rocks are those that are formed from cooled magma. The most common mafic minerals include biotite, hornblende, pyroxene, and olivine. The chemical formulas of these minerals show that they are high in iron and magnesium.

What is an example of mafic rock?

There are many examples of mafic rocks. The most common mafic rocks on Earth are basalt and gabbro. Both of which make up much of Earth’s oceanic crust.

Is quartz a mafic mineral?

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. The most common felsic rock is granite. Common felsic minerals include quartz, muscovite, orthoclase, and the sodium-rich plagioclase feldspars (albite-rich).

What are the 4 compositions of igneous rocks?

As has already been described, igneous rocks are classified into four categories, based on either their chemistry or their mineral composition: felsic, intermediate, mafic, and ultramafic.

What is felsic and mafic minerals?

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.

Is amphibole mafic or felsic?

Image Descriptions

Is rhyolite mafic or felsic?

felsic

Granite and rhyolite are considered felsic, while basalt and gabbro are mafic (click here for more information on mafic and felsic). Felsic rocks, in general, form the bulk of the continental plates, while mafic basalt forms the seafloor.

How is felsic formed?

For example, a coarse-grained, felsic igneous rock is not only a granite, it is an intrusive igneous rock that formed from slow cooling and crystallization of a body of magma within the earth’s crust. The intrusion of large bodies of granite – batholiths – is usually part of the origin of a mountain range.

What is a felsic composition?

Felsic rocks are mostly feldspar (especially K-feldspar), at least 10% quartz, and less than 15% mafic minerals (biotite, hornblende).

What are the examples of felsic rock?

Igneous Rocks: textures and compositions

Feb 23, 2005