phanerite
Sign in to saveAlso known as phaneritic
thumb|Close-up of granite, a phanerite rock, from [[Yosemite National Park in California, U.S.]] thumb|Phaneritic diorite from Massachusetts
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- igneous rock
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- opposite of
- aphanite
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Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Examples
- See also
- References
thumb|Close-up of granite, a phanerite rock, from [[Yosemite National Park in California, U.S.]] thumb|Phaneritic diorite from Massachusetts
A phanerite is an igneous rock whose microstructure is made up of crystals large enough to be distinguished with the unaided human eye. In contrast, the crystals in an aphanitic rock are too fine-grained to be identifiable. Phaneritic texture forms when magma deep underground in the plutonic environment cools slowly, giving the crystals time to grow.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “phanerite” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.