Igneous rocks are those which have been formed by the solidification of molten or semi-molten material known as magma. This process is either in the Earth's crust (the plutonic or intrusive rocks) or at or near the surface (the volcanic or extrusive rocks). The name igneous is from the Latin ignis, fire; plutonic from the Greek Pluto, god of the infernal regions; and volcanic from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. The principal plutonic rock is granite, a coarse-grained type that crystallized slowly in the crust in large masses known as batholiths. These rocks are now known on every continent where they have been exposed by denudation. However, they are never found in oceanic regions. Many occur in high mountain ranges, for example in the Himalayas (Le Fort, 1988; Shams, 1983). The main volcanic rock is basalt (q.v.), which is by far the commonest igneous rock on the surface of the Earth, where it forms large areas of lava, for example in Iceland, Hawaii, the Deccan Plateau, India, and...
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Sabine, P.A. (1997). Igneous rock . In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_181
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