WESTERN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Lapaz, loilo City

GEOLOGY FOR ENGINEERING

IGNEOUS ROCKS
Rocks is assemblies of minerals; it is formed by various minerals or rock fragments come together or
consists of a large number of accumulations of a single mineral. It is found it the majority of 8
element minerals as rock builder, representing more than 98% of the weight of the continental crust.

PETROLOGY-Is a branch of geology, which deals with study of rocks (Petro=rock, Logos=study)
Igneous rocks form when magma (molten rock material) freezes and solidifies. Igneous rocks are
the foundation of the Rock Cycle. Rock cycle shows how rocks are created, changed, and recycled

Magma consists mostly of liquid rock matter, but may contain crystals of various minerals, and may
contain a gas phase that may be dissolved in the liquid or may be present as a separate
gas phase.

Nature of Magma
• Composed of three portions – liquid, solid and gas
• Liquid portion = melt
– Mobile ions in solution
• Silicate ion, K+1, Ca+1, Na+1, Fe+2, Mg+2
• Solid component = silicate minerals
– May contain silicate minerals
• Formed early or undergoing melting
– Slow forming produces large crystals
• Gaseous portion = volatiles
– Most commonly H2O, CO2 and SO2
– May propel magma to surface
– Can enhance melting

Molten mass comprising most abundant elements in earth – Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K, H & O. Where the
SiO2 is most abundant amongst all.
Temperature of Magma- 10400 to 12000 C

2 DIFFERENT TYPES OF IGNEOUS ROCK

 Extrusive igneous rocks are found when the magma is thrown out from the volcanoes or
pushed slowly up through the cracks in the earth's crust. As the molten rock reaches the
surface it usually spreads out and cools relatively rapidly resulting in small crystals or
sometimes no crystals at all.
 Intrusive igneous rocks are formed from deeply buried magmas that cool very slowly within
the crust of the earth, thus forming larger crystals.

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DIFFERENT IGNEOUS INTRUSION
 Dikes are small (<20 m
wide) shallow intrusions that
show discordant relationship to
the rocks in which they
intrude. Discordant means
that they cut across
preexisting structures. They
may occur as isolated bodies or
may occur as swarms of
dikes emanating from a large
intrusive body at depth. Those that fill cracks or fractures, cutting across such layered
structures are called dikes.
 Sills are also small (<50
m thick) shallow intrusions
that show a concordant
relationship with the rocks
that they intrude. It is
usually being fed by dikes,
but these may not be
exposed in the field.
Tabular masses intruded between rock layers are called sills, If the magma was injected into
sedimentary layers along bedding planes, the igneous sheet formed.
 Laccoliths are
somewhat large
intrusions that result in uplift
and folding of the
preexisting rocks above the
intrusion. They are also
concordant types of
intrusions. It may
happen that the magma is
forced through a comparatively small aperture in the layers and reaches an area where it is
actually able to lift up the layers of overhead rock. A bun-shaped intrusion or laccolith is then
formed.

Plutons
` Although they may show sharp contacts with the surrounding rocks into which they intruded, at
deeper levels in the crust the contacts are often gradational.

 Lopoliths are relatively small plutons that

usually show a concave downward upper
surface. This shape may have resulted from the
reduction in volume that occurs when
magmas crystallize, with the weight of the
overlying rocks causing collapse of into the
space once occupied by the magma when it had
a larger volume as a liquid.
 Batholiths are very large intrusive bodies,
usually so large that their bottoms are rarely
exposed. Sometimes they are composed of
several smaller intrusions.
 Stocks are smaller bodies that are likely fed
from deeper level batholiths. Stocks may
have been feeders for volcanic eruptions, but
because large amounts of erosion are
required to expose a stock or batholith, the
associated volcanic rocks are rarely exposed.

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 COMPOSITION TYPE OF IGNEOUS ROCK
 Felsic rocks contain quartz, Na-rich plagioclase feldspar, and K-feldspar. The concentration of
dark minerals, including hornblende, biotite, and pyroxene in felsic rocks is low. Felsic rocks
are usually the lightest in color.

 Intermediate rocks typically contain hornblende, biotite or pyroxene, and plagioclase

feldspar with nearly equal amounts of Ca and Na. Feldspar and Mg- and Fe-rich minerals are
present in about equal proportions. These rocks tend to be darker than felsic rocks and lighter
in color than mafic and ultramafic rocks; gray shades are most common.

 Mafic and ultramafic rocks primarily contain Mg-rich and Fe-rich silicate minerals, olivine
and pyroxene. Ultramafic rocks are composed almost entirely of olivine and pyroxene. Mafic
rocks also contain Ca-rich plagioclase feldspar. These rocks tend to be dark gray to black in
color, because the dark Mg- and Fe-rich minerals are more prevalent than the light-colored
feldspar.

TEXTURE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

Phaneritic or Course grained
 Slow cooling, larger crystals
 Coarse texture
 Intrusive or plutonic
Example: Granite

Aphanitic or Fine grained

 Rapid cooling, smaller crystals
 Finer texture, mineral grains too
small to see with the unaided eye
• Extrusive or volcanic
Example: Basalt
Vesicular
 many pits from gas escape
 Extrusive rock
Example: Basalt

Pyroclastic
 Fused rock fragments & ash from an explosive
eruption
 Extrusive rock (made during an eruption) Example: Tuff
Glassy
 no obvious minerals
 This is an extrusive rock that cooled very quickly
Example: Obsidian

Porphyritic
 2 distinct grain sizes, large & small
 Two phases of cooling:
Intrusive phase: large crystals
Extrusive phase: fine crystals
Example: Andesite

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Different Igneous Rocks

ULTRABASIC ROCKS
- consist mainly of mafic minerals and contain little or no feldspar. They are coarse-grained,
mostly dark in colour, and have a high specific gravity (3.0 to 3.3).

 Picrite - Contains a little feldspar, up to about 10-12%; the bulk of the rock is made of olivine
and augite or hornblende, and olivine crystals may be enclosed in the other mafic mineral.

 Serpentinite (or serpentine-rock) -results from the alteration of peridotite by the action of
steam and other magmatic fluids while the rock is still hot. Red and green colored serpentinite
bodies occur.

BASIC ROCKS
- some of which are economically important as construction stone, road-stone and aggregate,
have a large content of ferromagnesian minerals which give the rocks a dark appearance. Specific
gravity ranges from about 2.9 to 3.2.

 Gabbro - is a coarse grained mafic plutonic igneous rock composed of varied percentages of
pyroxene, plagioclase feldspar, amphiboles, and olivine. A dark gray, green or black granular
rock similar in appearance to diorites. Like granite, gabbro is found in batholiths, but it also
founds small stocks, dikes, sills, and volcanic necks. Gabbro which is a durable construction
material for all purposes, has a high degree of compressive strength (average is 26,000 psi),
and low absorbability. Gabbro is chiefly used for road materials.

 Dolerite -The chemistry of this intrusive rock corresponds to gabbro but its texture is finer.
Dolerite forms dykes, sills, and other intrusions. The rock is dark grey in colour, except where
its content of feldspar is greater than average. Dolerite is important as a road-stone for
surfacing because of its toughness, and its capacity for holding a coating of bitumen and
giving a good 'bind'. In its unweather state dolerite is one of the strongest of the building
stones and used for vaults and strong-rooms, as in the Bank of England.

 Basalts - A group of very dense fine grained igneous rocks whose colors range from black to
dark gray to green to purplish. All basalts contain a great deal of lime, magnesium and iron.
They are a fine grained equivalent of gabbro and closely related to the andesite.

INTERMEDIATE ROCK
 Diorites - are intermediate plutonic igneous rocks composed mainly of plagioclase feldspars
(usually andesine), hornblende, and/or pyroxenes. Depending upon mineral composition,
diorites are colored salt-and-pepper, gray, bluish gray, to dark gray, and may have a greenish
cast. A family of rocks that resemble dark granite, and are most often found in sills, dikes, and
stocks.

 Andesite-are fine-grained volcanic rocks, are common as lava flows in orogenic regions and
occasionally form small intrusions. They are compact, sometimes vesicular, often brown in
color, and in total extent are second only to basalts

ACID ROCKS
-The acid plutonic rocks, granite and granodiorite, make the greater part of the large
batholiths, found in the cores of mountain fold-belts; they also form smaller masses in the upper
levels of the Earth's crust, and they are the most abundant of all plutonic rocks

 Granite - An intrusive igneous rock with an even texture. Any light colored, coarse to medium
grain rock may be called granite. Granite is gray, pink, or red, with crushing strength ranging
from 15,000 to 30,000 pounds per square inch. Unweather granites are strong and durable
rock suitable for bridge piers, sea walls, and foundations of buildings. Its chief defect lies in
the fact that when heated and chilled, the quartz and feldspar grains expand or contract at
different rates sometimes causing the rock surface to crumble or peel.

ALKALINE
- rock because it contains alkali-feldspars, rich in Na and K. Rocks of this group are not
abundant by comparison with the world's granites; where they are locally well developed, however,
they can be quarried and used for construction;

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  Syenite-Orthoclase or other alkali feldspar usually forms over half the rock, with smaller
amount of plagioclase (oligoclase); the dark minerals may be biotite, hornblende, or a
pyroxene; and apatite, sphene, zircon and opaque iron oxides are accessories. The texture is
coarse-grained, sometimes porphyritic. Hand specimen are usually pale colored.

 Trachyte -This is typically a pale coloured rough-looking lava (Greek trachys, rough) having
porphyritic crystals of orthoclase in a groundmass composed mainly of feldspar microliths, with
a small amount of biotite or hornblende.

Recognizing Minerals in Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Mineral Properties
Orthoclase
(potassium feldspar) Usually white or pink
2 cleavages @ 90
Euhedral crystals may be coffin-shaped

Plagioclase feldspar
Chalky white in granite or diorite, but
medium- to blue-gray in gabbro
2 cleavages @ 90
Striations may be visible in cleavage face

Quartz
Colorless to gray in igneous rocks
Glassy with conchoidal fracture
Irregular crystals in intrusive rocks

Biotite
Shiny and black
One perfect cleavage
Equidimensional flat crystals
Accessory mineral found only in felsic or
intermediate rocks

Muscovite
Shiny and silvery-white
One perfect cleavage
Flaky equidimensional crystals
Accessory mineral found only in felsic rocks

Hornblende
(amphibole) Black and shiny
Two good cleavages at 56 and 124
Euhedral, elongate (needle-like) crystals

Augite
(pyroxene) Very dark green to black
Duller than hornblende or biotite
Two cleavages @ 90
Blocky euhedral crystals
Found only in intermediate to mafic rocks,
never in the presence of quartz

Olivine
Light green to yellow green
Vitreous luster
Small equidimensional crystals
Found only in mafic rocks, never in the
presence of quartz

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 Pegmatitic Granite pegmatite Diorite pegmatite Gabbro pegmatite
Phaneritic Granite Diorite Gabbro Peridotite
(coarse-
grained)
Phaneritic and Porphyritic granite Porphyritic diorite Porphyritic gabbro
porphyritic
Aphanitic Rhyolite Andesite Basalt
(fine-grained)
Aphanitic and Rhyolite porphyry Andesite porphyry Basalt porphyry
porphyritic
Aphanitic and vesicular Vesicular andesite Vesicular basalt
Pyroclastic Rhyolite tuff Andesite tuff Basalt tuff
(clasts < 2 mm)
Pyroclastic Rhyolite breccia Andesite breccia Basalt breccia
(clasts > 2 mm)
Glassy and massive --------------------------Obsidian----------------
--------
Glassy and vesicular --------Pumice------- Scoria

USE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks have a wide variety of uses. One important use is as stone for buildings and statues.

Granite is used both in building construction and for statues. This is also used in making ornaments.
These are also used in decorative monuments, bridges, and commercial buildings. It's available in
large quantities and has good strength.

Diorite was used extensively by ancient civilizations for vases and other decorative artwork and is still
used for art today.

Pumice - Pumice is used to smooth skin or scrape up grime around the house. When pumice is
placed into giant washing machines with newly manufactured jeans and tumbled, the result is “stone-
washed” jeans.

Andesite - These fine-grained rocks are important for ornament business. They are chosen for their
fine blending and their not so edgy stone

Basalt - This is used in the building and construction process. It is used in flooring, cobblestone,
countertops, and railroad track ballast.

Gabbro - When polished, it can be used for multiple purposes like making cork surface, floor tiles,
facing stone and cemetery markers

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REFERENCES
I.Textbook
1. F.G.H. Blyth, & M. H. de Freitas (1984). A geology for engineers 7th Ed. London,
Great Britain.Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann,pp101-106.
II.PDF
1. http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens212/intro&textures.htm.Date retrieved
on December 1, 2019
2. https://civiltoday.com/geotechnical-engineering/geology/324-igneous-rock.
Date retrieved on December 1, 2019
3. https://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/POPP/Sept07_Ch4.pdf. Date
retrieved on December 1, 2019
4. http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/FACULTY/smithkonter/GG_101/lectures/GG10
1_Lecture05.pdf. Date retrieved on December 1, 2019
5. https://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/jrepka/notes/GEOigneousLAB. Date
retrieved on December 1, 2019
6. http://ocw.nagoya-u.jp/files/526/humblet_L6.pdf. Date retrieved on December
1, 2019

Prepared by:
Edrian Suanque
Mauice Jonh Lademora
Mary Kris Semolava