Batholith

A batholith ( from ancient Greek βάθος bathos "depth" and ancient Greek λίθος líthos "stone" ) is a long-range and complex constructed igneous plutonic rock body with a Ausstrichbreite on the surface of more than 100 km2, which widens towards the bottom.

Batholithe are irregularly shaped intrusive bodies ( plutons ), which the rock into which they penetrate, displace, mineralogical and thermal change ( contact metamorphism ) and partially melted. Batholithe are not caused by a single magmatic intrusion, but are usually constructed from many successive plutonic intrusions.

Volcanogenic Batholithe

Eroded former volcanic chains show in their root zone usually a complex structure of intrusions, which are in their holistic occurrence Batholithe. These intrusions are part of the magmatic activity of volcanic chains and provide a larger volume fraction of the conveyed material from the mantle is as at or near the earth's surface escaping volcanic material ( lava and pyroclastics ). A well-known example is the Sierra Nevada batholith in the U.S., in which the Yosemite National Park is located.

Orogens Batholithe

During the orogeny may occur Gesteinsaufschmelzung without intrusion from the mantle. The so anatektisch incurred igneous plutonic rocks can achieve similar orders of magnitude as volcanogenic Batholithe in a few cases, but are chemically seen put together differently than the latter: They are often enriched in potassium and correspond to average values ​​in the composition of the continental crust.

Occurrence

Batholite occur in all areas of the earth, in which there was extensive magmatic activity. Examples of Batholithe are:

• Sierra Nevada batholith, USA
• Coast Plutonic Complex, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range, Canada / USA
• Patagonian Batholith, Andes
• Chinamora batholith, Zimbabwe
• Adamello batholith Alps
• Aral granite batholith Chinese Altai
• Land's End Granite, Cornwall batholith under, stretch 68,000 km ³