 Name: Haseen Azam.

 Roll No. 28.

 Assignment: Igneous Petrology.

 Submitted to: Mr. Waqas Muzaffar.

 Department of Geology,

 Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan.

21March, 2019

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Table of Contents
1. Gabbro ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2. Classification of Gabbro: .................................................................................................................... 3
2. Pyroclastic rocks or Pyroclastics ............................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 5
2.2. Classification ...................................................................................................................................... 6
3. Ultramafic Rocks or Ultrabasic rocks ........................................................................................................ 8
3.1. Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 8
3.2. Classification ...................................................................................................................................... 8
4. Volcanic rocks ......................................................................................................................................... 10
4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 10
4.2. Classification: ................................................................................................................................... 10
5. Phaneritic and porphyritic rock............................................................................................................... 12
5.1. Introduction:..................................................................................................................................... 12
6. Phaneritic texture ................................................................................................................................... 12
7. TAS Classification .................................................................................................................................... 13
7.1. Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 13

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 1. Gabbro
1.1. Introduction

Gabbro is mafic, intrusive, and coarse grained rock.

Color: Gabbro is dense greenish or dark colored ranging between dark gray and greenish black because
of high proportion of ferromagnesian minerals.

Type: Plutonic Rocks.

Texture: Allotriomorphic texture.

Minerals: Gabbro contains ferromagnesian minerals and plagioclase.

Formation: Gabbro formed by cooling and crystallization of molten magma trapped under the earth
surface and chemically equivalent to extrusive basalt.

Figure 1Raw Gabbro and indigo polished Gabbro.

1.2. Classification of Gabbro:

Gabbro is a dark colored and dense greenish and contains amphibole, plagioclase, olivine and pyroxene.

Further classification will be discussed in the following QAPF diagram.

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Figure 2Gabbro and its classification.

Works Cited
(n.d.). Sciencedirect.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-science/gabbro March19th, 2019

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2. Pyroclastic rocks or Pyroclastics
2.1. Introduction

Rocks that formed by accumulation of material generated by explosive fragmentation of magma and /
or previously solid rock, during the course of a volcanic eruption is called Pyroclastic Rocks.

Pyroclastic rocks are the product of explosive volcanism

These rocks are composed solely or primarily of volcanic materials. Where the volcanic materials has
been transported and reworked through mechanical action such as by wind or water.

Nature: Pyroclastic are hard or soft rocks, depends on rocks composition whether it is composed of soft
fragments or hard fragment. The fragments are from older rocks (mostly volcanic, plutonic, but also
sedimentary, or metamorphic ones) from the surrounding basement and / or solidified lava fragments.

Examples:

The most important pyroclastic rocks are:

Breccia (volcanic)

Tuff (volcanic)

Pumice

Scoria

Color:

Changeable Matrix mostly grey

Grain Size:

Fine grained to glassy, can contain big fragments

Texture:

Porphyric, Porous

Minerals:

Changeable

Occurrences:

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Examples: North Am. (USA: Arizona, Cascades), Japan Italy (Eolian Islands, Tuscany, Umbria), Kamchatka,
Andes (South America),

Figure 2.1Pyroclastic Rocks

2.2. Classification
Igneous rocks composed of one of the three principal classes of rocks. Whereas most metamorphic
rocks show typical metamorphic texture (banding, foliation, layering) and sedimentary rocks mostly
show sedimentary textures (banking, bedding), igneous rocks (plutonites) usually show no orientation of
their grains.

An igneous rock is of various appearances, crystalline or glassy or no crystalline, formed by the cooling
and solidification of magma. Most igneous rocks consist of minerals like quartz, feldspar, pyroxene,
amphibole, mica, apatite, olivine, nepheline or leucite.

Origin: They are either of intrusive (plutonites) or extrusive (volcanites)

Classification on the basis of grain size and texture:

Thus they can be classified also by their grain size and texture visually:

Coarse-grained (e.g. granites and gabbro)

Fine grained (e.g. basalt)

Glassy (e.g. obsidian)

Porphyric

Pyroclastic rocks (e.g. tuffs).

Color

Changeable color

Grain Size

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Coarse grained, fine grained, glassy, and porphyric (depending on type)

Texture

Changeable texture, mostly no grain orientation, sometimes porphyric

Minerals

Changeable, most common:

Quartz, feldspar, pyroxene, amphibole, mica, apatite, olivine, nepheline or Lucite

Occurrences

It is found all over the world.

Figure 2.2Classification of pyroclastic rocks

http://chc.sbg.ac.at/sri/thesaurus/node.php?id=10 22March2019

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3. Ultramafic Rocks or Ultrabasic rocks
3.1. Introduction
Ultramafic rocks are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content <45%, generally
>18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed of usually >90% mafic minerals (dark colored,
high magnesium and iron content). Ultrabasic is a more inclusive term that includes igneous rocks with
low silica content that may not be extremely enriched in Fe and Mg, such as carbonatites and
ultrapotassic igneous rocks

Occurrences: Mantle of the earth is composed of ultramafic rocks.

Figure 3 Ultramafic Rock in Southern Mexico

3.2. Classification
The low content of silica and gas make them very fluid; that is i.e. low viscosity, or resistance to flow.
Ultramafic rocks are attributed with names depending on whether they are intrusive or extrusive.

Nomenclature: Peridotite is the name attributed to intrusive ultramafic rocks, whereas komatiite is the
name attributed to extrusive ultramafic rocks. Peridotite and komatiite are same in in composition.
Their textures, however, are different showing their mode of formation.

It is very little exposed at the surface. Chunks of peridotite, however, are often brought up by other
magmas. These included chunks are called inclusions or xenoliths (meaning "foreign rock"). Komatiites,
the extrusive equivalents of peridotite are relatively rare.

Further classification of ultramafic rocks will be discussed diagrammatically

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 Figure 4 IUGS-Classification-diagram-for-ultramafic-rocks-based-on-modal-percentages-of-three

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ultramafic_rock 22March, 2019

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4. Volcanic rocks
4.1. Introduction
“Igneous rocks of volcanic origin is called volcanic rocks”

Texture: These rocks are usually fine-grained or aphanitic to glassy in texture. Volcanic rocks often have
a vesicular texture, which is the result voids left by volatiles escaping from the molten lava. Pumice is a
rock, which is an example of explosive volcanic eruption. It is so vesicular that it floats in water

Crystals: Volcanic rocks often contain clasts of other rocks and phenocrysts. Phenocrysts crystals are
larger than the matrix and are observed with naked eye.

Formation: They were created during fractional crystallization of magma before extrusion.

Nomenclature: Volcanic rocks are named according to their chemical composition.

Differentiation on the basis of silica contents: Basalt is a very common volcanic rock with low silica
content. Rhyolite is a volcanic rock with high silica content. Rhyolite has identical chemical composition
as granite and basalt is compositionally equal to gabbro. Intermediate volcanic rocks include andesite,
dacite, and latite... They are usually felsic (high in silica). Shallow intrusions, which possess structure
similar to volcanic rather than plutonic rocks, are also considered to be volcanic.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/706.html 22March, 2019

Figure 5 list of volcanic rocks

4.2. Classification:

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Based on chemistry or mineral composition Igneous rocks are classified into four categories: felsic,
intermediate, mafic, and ultramafic. The diagram in Figure 4 can be used to help classify igneous rocks
by their mineral composition. An important point in this diagram is the red line separating the non-
ferromagnesian silicates in the lower left (K-feldspar, quartz, and plagioclase feldspar) from the
ferromagnesian silicates in the upper right (biotite, amphibole, pyroxene, and olivine). In classifying
intrusive igneous rocks, the first thing to consider is the percentage of ferromagnesian silicates.

Based on the position of the red line in Figure 4, it is evident that felsic rocks can have about 1% -20%
ferromagnesian silicates (the red line intersects the left side of the felsic zone 1% of the distance from
the top of the diagram, and it intersects the right side of the felsic zone 20% of the distance from the
top). Intermediate rocks have between 20% and 50% ferromagnesian silicates, and mafic rocks have
50% -100% ferromagnesian silicates.

To be more specific, felsic rocks typically have biotite and/or amphibole; intermediate rocks have
amphibole and, in some cases, pyroxene; and mafic rocks have pyroxene and, in some cases, olivine.

Figure 4A simplified classification diagrams for igneous rocks based on their mineral compositions [SE]

If we concentrate on the non-ferromagnesian silicates, it is obvious that felsic rocks can have from:

0%-35% K-feldspar,

25%-35% quartz (the vertical thickness of the quartz field varies from 25% to 35%),

And 25%-50% plagioclase (and that plagioclase will be sodium-rich, or albitic).

Intermediate rocks can have up to 25% quartz

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And 50% -75% plagioclase

Mafic rocks only have plagioclase (up to 50%), and that plagioclase will be calcium-rich, or anorthitic.

5. Phaneritic and porphyritic rock

5.1. Introduction:
Phaneritic: any coarse-grained igneous rock, often intrusive, usually formed as a result of a longer
cooling history (ex. granite, gabbro).

Porphyritic: an igneous rock with one mineral (called the phenocryst) exhibiting a grain size larger than
the remainder of the minerals (called the groundmass). In volcanic rocks Porphyritic textures are most
common where one of the minerals will begin to crystallize prior to eruption (therefore producing larger
grains), with the rest cooling more rapidly after eruption. That is comparable to chocolate-chip cookies
in class.

Examples: Include hornblende andesite porphyry, rhyo-dacite porphyry, and many others.

< http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/AskGeoMan/000095_AskGeo.html>

6. Phaneritic texture
Coarse-Grained (Phaneritic) Textures

Generally deep underground magmas that slowly cooled indicate Coarse-grained textures. Slow cooling
Provides crystals enough time to grow to easily seen sizes (i.e., larger than 1 mm).

Formation: The crystals that formed first tend to have regular shapes because they grow freely into the
surrounding liquid. While the Later-formed crystals find themselves competing for space with their solid
neighbors; they are forced to fill in the irregular gaps. Thus, you can often figure out the relative order in
which the minerals crystallized from the magma.

http://www.pitt.edu/~cejones/GeoImages/2IgneousRocks/IgneousTextures/1CoarseGrained.html

Rocks with porphyritic texture like andesite have larger mineral grains, or phenocrysts, in a matrix of
smaller grains. In other words, they show two distinctive sizes of grains that are visible to the unaided
eye.

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Phaneritic rocks have mineral grains that are large enough to be seen with the unaided eye or a hand
lens, like granite.

< https://www.thoughtco.com/igneous-rock-textures-4122902>

Igneous textures help geologists in identifying the rocks origin, and for the classification of rocks.
Phaneritic texture is one of the six main textures of rocks. Phaneritic rocks are intrusive igneous rocks
with coarse crystals of equal size.

Phaneritic rocks indicate slow cooling of magma deep beneath the Earth’s surface. With slow cooling,
the rate of growth of mineral grains exceeds the rate of nuclei formation within the minerals of the
rocks. As a result, relatively large mineral grains are formed, yielding a phaneritic texture.

The minerals in the phaneritic igneous rock are large, and can be observed as individual crystals with the
naked eye. The diameter of each crystal may range from 1 to 30mm. The crystals that are formed during
early stages of slow cooling are euhedral, while the later formed crystals are subhedral to anhedral.

https://www.azomining.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1294

7. TAS Classification
7.1. Introduction
TAS Stands for Total Alkali Silica. Igneous Rocks is largely classified on the based on two diagrams: QAPF
diagram for plutonic rocks (formed in the crust) and TAS diagram for volcanic rocks.

There is an analogue of QAPF diagram designed specifically for volcanic rocks which can be used to
determine the mineralogical composition of the rock. In many cases it becomes difficult because
volcanic rocks tend to be too fine-grained even for microscopic study and they often contain volcanic
glass which may have very versatile composition. And here comes the second problem which is even
more serious than the first one. QAPF diagram and TAS diagram are based on different criteria. There is
absolutely no guarantee that a rock sample which was correctly identified as trachyte using QAPF
diagram is still trachyte if we make a chemical analysis of it and plot the results on the TAS diagram. It
means that in certain cases of rock identification one result on QAPF diagram should deviate from result
shown on TAS diagram of same rock.

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But this is the truth that we have to live with right now. The principles of classification are not yet
perfect but they are probably good enough because they have been in use for several decades in past
and present they seem to have gained international recognition. There are some additional things which
have to be accounted for if you’re going to use the TAS diagram.

https://www.sandatlas.org/tas-diagram/

Uses: The TAS classification is used to give names to many common types of volcanic rocks based upon
the relationships between the combined alkali content and the silica content. These chemical
parameters are useful, because the relative proportions of alkalis and silica play an important role in
determining actual mineralogy and normative mineralogy. The classification appears to be and can be
simple to use for rocks that have been chemically analyzed.
Use of the TAS classification

Before using the TAS or any other classification, however, should be kept in mind the following words of
Johannsen (1937).

Many and peculiar are the classifications that have been assigned for igneous rocks. Their variability
depends in part upon the purpose for which each was intended, and in part upon the difficulties arising
from the characters of the rocks themselves. The trouble is not with the classifications but with nature
which did not make things right. … Rocks must be classified in order to compare them with others,
previously described, of similar composition and appearance. If this cannot be done on a genetic basis,
then an artificial system must answer in order to serve as a card index to rock descriptions. Although this
may be an evil thing, it is, at least, the least of several evils.

The subtitle of the classification chapter by Johannsen (1937) is "Chacun a son goût" (to each his own
taste).

.
Limitations: Furthermore, as discussed in considerable detail by Le Maitre and others (2002), the
classification cannot be applied to all volcanic rocks. Certain rocks cannot be named using the diagram.
For others, additional chemical, mineralogical, or textural criteria must be used, as for lamprophyres.

The TAS classification should be applied only to rocks for which the mineral mode cannot be determined
(otherwise, use a scheme based on mineralogy, such as the QAPF diagram or one of the other diagrams

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presented in the entry for igneous rocks). Before rocks classification using the TAS diagram, the chemical
analyses must be recalculated to 100% excluding water and CO2.

The TAS diagram

Figure 6 TAS Diagram. This version is based upon coordinates provided by Le Maitre et al. (2002).

https://www.revolvy.com/page/TAS-classification March 22, 2019

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References:
 Science direct
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-science/gabbro March19th, 2019

 Wikipedia
https://en.wkipedia.org March 22, 2019

 Newworldencyclopedia
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ultramafic_rock March22, 2019.

 Sandatlas,

https://www.sandatlas.org/tas-diagram/ March 22, 2019

 Azomining
https://www.azomining.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1294

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