Cross polarised light micrograph of a thin section of a porphyritic basalt rock from Mount Dore,France. The section is dominated by the mineral plagioclase feldspar which appears as 'zebra- striped twins' in a fine grained basalt matrix. Large crystals,like these,embedded in a fine grained matrix are known as phenocrysts. The brightly coloured crystals in this specimen,also phenocrysts,are the minerals pyroxene & olivine. The size of a phenocryst depends on the rate at which it was cooled out of the magma; the larger the crystals the slower the process. Magnification x2.5 at 35mm size. Microcosmos P. 139 fig.7.22 | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / McNamee, Dr. Mike |
Taille de l’image : | 5188 px × 3543 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |