How is xenolith formed

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Jan, M. The mineralogy and geochemistry of the metamorphosed basic and ultrabasic rocks of the Jijal Complex, Kohistan, NW Pakistan. Johnston, L. The petrology of gabbroic xenoliths from Kanaga Island, the central Aleutians, Alaska. Magma is the molten rock beneath the Earth s crust that emerge s as lava during a volcanic eruption. The rock that forms from cooled magma is called igneous rock.

Xenoliths are different types of rock embedded in igneous rock. Xenoliths are torn from deep cracks, or pipes, in the Earths surface. Magma rises to the Earths surface through these pipes between the Earths crust and mantle. As the molten material rises, it tears off bits and pieces of the magma pipe in which it is traveling. These bits and pieces, trapped in the magma but not melting into it, become xenoliths.

Crystal s that are torn from the sides of magma pipes are called xenocryst s. As magma erupts or flows from the Earths surface, it is cooled by exposure to air or water. Lava cools fairly quickly, and various types of igneous rocks are formed. Xenoliths are usually visible. Most of the time, a xenolith is a rock embed ded in magma while the magma was cooling. Magma is the molten rock beneath the Earth s crust that emerge s as lava during a volcanic eruption. The rock that forms from cooled magma is called igneous rock.

Xenoliths are different types of rock embedded in igneous rock. Xenoliths are torn from deep cracks, or pipes, in the Earths surface. Magma rises to the Earths surface through these pipes between the Earths crust and mantle. As the molten material rises, it tears off bits and pieces of the magma pipe in which it is traveling. These bits and pieces, trapped in the magma but not melting into it, become xenoliths.

Crystal s that are torn from the sides of magma pipes are called xenocryst s. As magma erupts or flows from the Earths surface, it is cooled by exposure to air or water. Lava cools fairly quickly, and various types of igneous rocks are formed. Xenoliths are usually visible. They have a different color and density than the surrounding igneous rock.

Xenoliths can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a football, and as long as several meters. Xenoliths and xenocrysts are affected by temperature. A xenolith may lose its unique qualities if it melts into the surrounding magma. As it cools, the material may cease being a xenolith at all and become a metamorphic rock.

Metamorphic rock is rock that has changed from one form sedimentary or igneous to another. Xenoliths and xenocrysts are often identified by the names of the two rock types involved. A peridotite xenolith in a basalt ic lava flow, for instance, means a chunk of the rock peridotite is embedded in basalt rock.

The peridotite is usually yellow and dense, while the basalt is usually grey and light. Xenoliths and xenocrysts provide valuable information about the geology of the Earths mantle. Scientists study the chemical properties of xenoliths to understandthe depth at which they were formed. Many xenocrysts were created hundreds of kilometers within the Earth, far below the deepest mine s and wells.

The information about the condition of the mantle at these depths would be impossible to understand without xenoliths and xenocrysts.