What Is Magma?
10. Plutons
Plutonic rocks, also called intrusive rocks, are usually found within magma chambers. This is where the magma never rises to erupt on to the surface, but rather becomes trapped within the crust, collects, and then cools slowly for tens of thousands of years or more. These rocks are eventually exposed through erosion.
Advertisement
They were named in the 18th century for the Roman god of the underworld. Plutons form coarse-grained igneous rocks like granite, gabbro, pegmatite, and quartz diorite. They are the most abundant type of rock on Earth and form the base of our continents and the roots of mountains like Cardinal Peak in Washington State and Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.
Advertisement
Advertisement
