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Plutons
► Effects of water
Increased water lowers solidification
temperature (dry magma solidifies quicker)
Rising magma loses water, hardens quicker
Intrusive Structures
► Pluton – a bulbous mass of magma that
intrudes into and solidifies within the crust.
► Intrusive structures:
Batholith – a collection of plutons that form a
body the size of a mountain range, exposed by
erosion, typically bigger than 100 km2
Stock – an irregularly shaped intrusive body that
is similar in size to a pluton (1 to 10 km2)
Dike – a discordant tabular intrusive body
Sill – a concordant tabular intrusive body
Batholiths form above subduction zones as plutons of magma collect and
cool within the crust beneath a volcanic arc. The plutonic rock of a
batholith is exposed after subduction and volcanism cease and the
overlying volcanic rocks have eroded away. A batholith is presently
Plutons of the Sierra Nevada batholith are exposed by glacial erosion here
in Yosemite Valley. The bright granite face of the El Capitan pluton is over
A pluton or stock may supply magma to a variety of smaller intrusive
structures such as dikes and sills, as well as being the reservoir for
magma that erupts at the surface to form a volcano or lava flow.
Dike Dikes and Sills are tabular
intrusive bodies, which are easily
recognized by their relationship
with surrounding rocks. Generally
dikes form as walls, and sills as
layers, such that the former cuts
across layers and the latter lies
between layers of sedimentary
rock.
8.6 Volcanoes
► Volcanic Vents are places where magma and
related fluids erupt onto the surface
Vents typically occur as tubes and fissures