What causes igneous rocks to have different textures?

Extrusive or volcanic rocks crystallize from lava at the earth’s surface. The texture of an igneous rock (fine-grained vs coarse-grained) is dependent on the rate of cooling of the melt: slow cooling allows large crystals to form, fast cooling yields small crystals.

Do volcanic rocks have texture?

Volcanic Rocks. Let us start with textures associated with rocks formed by lava flows. Magmas that erupt as lava onto the earth’s surface cool and solidify rapidly. Rapid cooling results in an aphanitic igneous texture, in which few or none of the individual minerals are big enough to see with the naked eye.

How are volcanic rocks different from each other?

Volcanoes produce different types of volcanic rocks. The creation of volcanic rocks depends on the type of eruption and the source and composition of the magma erupted. When the volcano erupts, it brings up these larger minerals, as well as other lava which then cools into smaller crystals.

What kind of texture do volcanic rocks have?

Volcanic rocks form when magma rises to the surface and erupts, either as lava or pyroclastic material. The rate of cooling of the magma is rapid, and crystal growth is inhibited. Volcanic rocks are characteristically fine-grained.

How can rocks have different textures?

The texture of a rock is the size, shape, and arrangement of the grains (for sedimentary rocks) or crystals (for igneous and metamorphic rocks). Also of importance are the rock’s extent of homogeneity (i.e., uniformity of composition throughout) and the degree of isotropy.

What is the difference between Plutonic and volcanic rocks?

Plutonic rocks are formed when magma cools and solidifies underground. Volcanic rocks are formed from lava that flows on the surface of the Earth and other planets and then cools and solidifies. The texture of an igneous rock depends on the size of the crystals in the rock.

Why do plutonic and volcanic rocks have different textures?

How do you describe the texture of a rock?

How and why do the textures of volcanic rocks differ from the textures of plutonic rocks?

Plutonic rocks are also coarser grained, being made of large interlocking crystals whereas volcanic rocks are more fine-grained. Volcanic rocks also form quite rapidly whereas the formation of plutonic rocks is much slower.

Does texture have volcanic or plutonic?

Plutonic rocks are coarse-grained as they are formed slowly that allows the formation of large crystals before the magma solidifies into a rock….Plutonic Rocks:

Volcanic Rocks	Plutonic Rocks
It is hard and heavy so often used for building roads.	It is often used as building stone.

What is the difference between the texture of an igneous rock and the texture of a sedimentary rock?

The texture of igneous rocks depends on how fast it has cooled down. Textures range from coarse-grained to glassy. The texture of sedimentary rocks depends on their clast, age, and depositional setting. These are generally grainy.

Why is texture so important in sedimentary rocks?

Texture plays a very important part in sedimentary rocks, because the petrophysical properties of a rock, hence its porosity and permeability, depend essentially on texture. These components are not necessarily present all together in the same rock.