Syenogranite is a fine to coarse grained intrusive

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma ...

rock of the same general composition as

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies unde ...

. They are characteristically

felsic In geology, felsic is a modifier describing igneous rocks that are relatively rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz.Marshak, Stephen, 2009, ''Essentials of Geology,'' W. W. Norton & Company, 3rd ed. It is contrasted with mafic rocks, whi ...

. The

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feld ...

component of syenogranite is predominantly

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a s ...

in character (usually

orthoclase Orthoclase, or orthoclase feldspar (endmember formula K Al Si3 O8), is an important tectosilicate mineral which forms igneous rock. The name is from the Ancient Greek for "straight fracture," because its two cleavage planes are at right angles ...

). For example, the syenogranite in the

Salmon Mountains The Salmon Mountains are a subrange of the Klamath Mountains in Siskiyou County, northwestern California. Geography The Salmon Mountains are a sub-mountain range within the Klamath Mountains System. The Klamath system are of the Pacific Coast ...

in Idaho is pink to tan and composed of 45–55% alkali feldspar, 15–20% plagioclase, 15–20%

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical fo ...

, 5–8%

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more alumi ...

, 3–5%

hornblende Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic roc ...

, and accessory

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With the ...

(Evans and Green, 2003). Syenogranite is similar to

syenite Syenite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock with a general composition similar to that of granite, but deficient in quartz, which, if present at all, occurs in relatively small concentrations (< 5%). Some syenites contain larger proport ...

, however the major difference is its higher content of quartz (15-25%) usually at the expense of some alkali feldspar (45-50%), the domination of biotite over hornblende and the presence of

muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage ...

and

rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at visibl ...

as additional accessories in the syenogranite. Some syenogranite contain rare idiomorphic

amphibole Amphibole () is a group of inosilicate minerals, forming prism or needlelike crystals, composed of double chain tetrahedra, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structures. Its IMA symbol is ...

(Fe-hornblende and Fe-edenite), biotite (annite 25%-35%), plagioclase (An₃), along with K-feldspar and quartz. (Mafti, 2001). In the Sao Jose do Campestre Massif in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the syenogranite is a coarse-grained rock composed of

microcline Microcline (KAlSi3O8) is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is a potassium-rich alkali feldspar. Microcline typically contains minor amounts of sodium. It is common in granite and pegmatites. Microcline forms during slow ...

, quartz, hornblende, and rare

clinopyroxene The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated to ''Px'') are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe II) ...

, together with

allanite Allanite (also called orthite) is a sorosilicate group of minerals within the broader epidote group that contain a significant amount of rare-earth elements. The mineral occurs mainly in metamorphosed clay-rich sediments and felsic igneous rocks ...

, as essential minerals (Benjamin et al., 1998).

References

* Bley, Benjamin, Peter Christian Hackspacher, Elton Luizdantas, and William Randall Van Schmus. (1998) "Archean Accretion in the Sao Jose do Campestre Massif, Borborema Province, Northeast Brazil." Revista Brasileirade Geociencias, Vol. 2

* Karl V. Evans and Gregory N. Green (2003) “Geological Map of the Salmon National Forest and Vicinity, East-Central Idaho.” U.S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Surve

* Mafti, Mohammed Rashad H. (2001) "Age, Geochemistry and Origin of the Peraluminous A-Type Granitoids of the Ablah-Shuwas Pluton, Ablah Graben Arabian Shield." Faculty of Earth Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Acta Mineralogica-Petrographica, Vol. 42, pp. 5–2

Plutonic rocks {{petrology-stub

See also

References