Is Granite Felsic Intermediate Or Mafic

Mafic rocks have about 50 percent silica and high amounts of iron magnesium and calcium and are dark in color.

Is granite felsic intermediate or mafic.

The term felsic describes igneous rocks that are relatively rich in the elements that form quartz and feldspar. Gabbro is mafic obsidian is felsic granite is felsic andesite is intermediate. Which of the following is an aphanitic igneous rock. Therefore rocks are divided into ultramafic mafic intermediate and felsic.

Granite is a felsic rock. More general terms for these rocks are mafic felsic and intermediate. Intermediate rocks are roughly even mixtures of felsic minerals mainly plagioclase and mafic minerals mainly hornblende pyroxene and or biotite. Syenite diorite and monzonite are intermediate with an average silica content of 59 percent.

It is commonly erupted as passive lava flows due to its low viscosity. Additionally they contain somewhat more gas than do the mafic magmas but not quite as much as the felsic magmas see below. This is an order showing increased silica content. Mafic felsic and intermediate extrusive rocks.

Granite is a great example of felsic rocks and muscovite quartz and some feldspar are the best examples of felsic minerals. Part i volcanic extrusive rocks. Intermediate magmas are somewhat more viscous than the mafic magmas. Due to the color of the minerals forming them the rocks are either light or dark.

For example granite contains around 70 of silica. The most common felsic rock is granite which represents the purified end product of the earth s internal differentiation process. Diorite is the name given to intrusive intermediate rocks whereas andesite is the name given to extrusive intermediate rocks. Mafic rocks have between 45 and 55 of silica whereas felsic rocks have over 65 of silica the highest of all types.

A common mafic rock is basalt. Whereas magma mixing occurs when two ascending bodies of magma join and mix together into a composition that is intermediate to the two original magmas. Compilations of many rock analyses show that rhyolite and granite are felsic with an average silica content of about 72 percent. Felsic rocks are composed of high levels of magma silicate materials and rocks which are also rich in potassium oxygen silicon and sodium.

Mafic vs felsic mafic and felsic are categories into which igneous rocks are classified. And peridotite is an ultramafic rock with an. Gabbro and basalt are mafic with an average silica content of 48 percent. All felsic rocks contain a high percentage of silica.

It is important to note that there are many intermediate steps in the purification process and many intermediate magmas which are produced during the conversion from mafic to felsic. Felsic rocks are mostly feldspar especially k feldspar at least 10 quartz and less than 15 mafic minerals biotite hornblende.