Where To Find Basalt And Granite

Basalt can form in a few days to months whereas granite plutons can take millions of years to cool and harden.

Where to find basalt and granite.

Basalt is a dark colored fine grained igneous rock composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals. Basalt wikipedia wikimedia foundation 13 sept. Basalt is the dark heavy volcanic rock that makes up most of the world s oceanic crust. Basaltic crust is dark and thin and heavy while granite is light and accumulates.

It is the most common plutonic rock of the earth s crust forming by the cooling of magma silicate melt at depth. Basalt is darker and is composed of magnesium and iron whereas granite is lighter and is made up of feldspar and quartz. Basalt is called mafic while granite is called felsic. Its high iron content gives it magnetic properties and it may show signs of rust when exposed to air.

Basalt is more common in oceanic crust while granite is more common in continental crust. Basalt is extrusive while granite is intrusive igneous rock. Basalt as a mafic rock contains more calcium oxide manganese oxide and iron compounds than granite. Compared to the familiar granite of the continents basalt ba salt is darker denser and finer grained.

Summary basalt vs granite. Basalt is an igneous volcanic rock that forms commonly in oceanic crust and parts of. Granite coarse or medium grained intrusive igneous rock that is rich in quartz and feldspar. It wants to be there and heat is the key which unlocks the door.

Learn more about the properties and uses of granite in this article. Granite is a felsic rock meaning that it has a high silicon content. As it turns out most of the ocean floor is basalt and most of the continents are granite. Basalt and granite are two types of igneous rocks that we can find on earth.

It is mostly made out of quartz mica and feldspar. Basalt is mostly found on ocean floors while granite is the crust of earth in all continents. The key difference between basalt and granite is that basalt is mostly occurring on ocean floors while granite is in the crust of the earth in all continents. Some of it erupts on land too but to a first approximation basalt is an oceanic rock.