Igneous Rocks and Volcanoes
Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University
of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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- The property of a magma that determines whether or not it has high viscosity:
- density
- silica content
- color
- iron content
- water content
- This mineral tends to form first in Bowen's Series:
- quartz
- plagioclase
- olivine
- muscovite
- biotite
- Most stratovolcanoes tend to erupt:
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- gabbro
- obsidian
- This rock is so porous it often floats on water:
- gabbro
- obsidian
- pumice
- granite
- rhyolite
- After steam, the most abundant component of volcanic gases:
- argon
- carbon dioxide
- hydrogen sulfide
- sulfur dioxide
- nitrogen
- These lavas erupt coolest:
- pumice
- basalt
- andesite
- rhyolite
- Which of these igneous rocks is classified on the basis of its texture:
- dunite
- andesite
- scoria
- rhyolite
- basalt
- A volcano that has not erupted in 1000 years is best described as:
- active
- dormant
- extinct
- Which of these is a pyroclastic material:
- a basalt lava flow
- a diorite sill
- a batholith
- a volcanic mudflow
- volcanic ash
- Most batholiths are made of:
- granite
- basalt
- dunite
- gabbro
- rhyolite
- The property of a magma that determines whether or not it flows easily:
- density
- viscosity
- color
- iron content
- This mineral tends to form last in Bowen's Series:
- quartz
- plagioclase
- olivine
- muscovite
- biotite
- Shield volcanoes tend to erupt:
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- gabbro
- obsidian
- All these rocks have about the same chemical composition except:
- gabbro
- obsidian
- pumice
- granite
- rhyolite
- The most abundant component of volcanic gases:
- steam
- carbon dioxide
- hydrogen sulfide
- sulfur dioxide
- nitrogen
- These lavas erupt hottest:
- pumice
- basalt
- andesite
- rhyolite
- During its lifetime, a volcano may:
- collapse to form a caldera
- collapse in a catastrophic landslide
- erode away to leave a volcanic neck
- any of the above
- A volcano that has not erupted in 1000 years is extinct. True or False:
- True
- False
- Source of the water that forms volcanic mudflows:
- melting of the volcano's snow or ice cap
- condensation of water vapor from the eruption cloud
- both a and b
- neither a nor b
- The least dangerous hazard to human life from volcanoes:
- lava flows
- nuees ardentes
- mudflows
- Mount St. Helens, prior to its eruption in 1980 was an excellent example of:
- a shield volcano
- a dormant volcano
- an extinct volcano
- an active volcano
- none of these
- The steepness of slopes on a volcanic mountain is determined primarily by:
- the relative amounts of pyroclastic debris and lava erupted from the volcanic vent
- the initial temperature of the lava
- the amount of rainfall in the area
- the force with which the magma is pushed upward
- none of these
- A fiery cloud of hot gases and pyroclastic debris which flows down the side of a volcano is called:
- a cinder avalanche
- a nuee ardente or
pyroclastic flow
- clastic flow
- theromoclastic avalanche
- none of these
- The steep-walled structure formed by the collapse of the top of a volcanic mountain into an underlying magma chamber is called:
- a crater
- a fissure
- a caldera
- a vent
- none of these
- The Columbia Plateau in the northwestern U.S. is an excellent example of:
- an eroded shield volcano
- deposits of flood basalts
- extensive deposits of pyroclastic debris
- a chain of composite volcanoes
- none of these
- The type of rock which is not a common volcanic rock is:
- andesite
- basalt
- gabbro
- rhyolite
- none of these
- Two types of gases, other than steam, that are most abundant in volcanic emissions are:
- carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide
- carbon dioxide and nitrogen
- hydrogen and helium
- none of these
- carbon monoxide and argon
- Gabbro is coarser grained than basalt because:
- it contains more silica
- the original magma cooled under low pressure, so that larger crystals could form
- the original magma cooled more slowly
- the crystals have grown larger during later metamorphism
- none of these
- Granites and rhyolites are related by:
- their grain size
- their mode of emplacement
- their association in the ocean basins
- their mineralogical composition
- none of these
- Which of these processes can destroy a stratovolcano:
- landslide
- gradual erosion
- caldera collapse
- all of the above
- Why some minerals, like olivine and quartz, can't occur together
- some occur in volcanic rocks, others in plutonic rocks
- they are both silicates
- neither of them contains silica
- they are chemically incompatible
- The first question a geologist asks in classifying an igneous rock
- What feldspars are present?
- Is quartz present?
- What dark minerals are present?
- When molten rock reaches the surface, it's called:
- lava
- slag
- magma
- granite
- Molten rock which does not reach the surface is called:
- volcanic ash
- magma
- basalt
- lava
- Magma forms
- in the core of the earth
- 1000 miles below the surface
- a mile below the surface
- about 50 miles below the surface
- How to tell a dike from a sill
- a dike cuts across structures but a sill is parallel to them
- dikes are mostly of gabbro, sills are diorite
- sills are usually associated with batholiths
- all of the above
- Silica-rich lavas
- are usually cooler than silica-poor lavas
- are more viscous
- tend to be accompanied by more explosive eruptions
- all of the above
- none of the above
- An igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix.
- basalt
- pumice
- scoria
- porphyry
- According to Bowen's Series:
- quartz forms last
- quartz and olivine form together
- quartz forms before biotite
- quartz forms first
- Obsidian
- is volcanic glass
- is usually rhyolitic in composition
- has conchoidal fracture
- all of the above
- A felsic magma:
- contains a high percentage of iron and magnesium
- cools to form volcanic rocks such as basalt
- contains more than 65% silica
- is characterized as silica poor
- contains mostly sodium and potassium
- The viscosity of magma is primarily controlled by:
- temperature
- texture
- silica content
- elevation
- pressure
- The most commonly emitted volcanic gas is:
- carbon dioxide
- chlorine
- hydrogen sulfide
- water vapor
- nitrogen
- An example of a concordant pluton having a tabular geometry is a:
- sill
- lava flow
- batholith
- dike
- volcanic neck
- Most pegmatites are essentially:
- light-colored gabbro
- thick accumulations of pyroclastic materials
- very coarse-grained granite
- rhyolite porphyry
- cylindrical plutons
- An igneous rock possessing a combination of mineral grains with markedly different sizes is:
- a natural glass
- the product of very rapid cooling
- formed by explosive volcanism
- a porphyry
- a tuff
- Basalt plateaus form as a result of:
- repeated eruptions of cinder cones
- widespread ash falls
- accumulation of thick layers of pyroclastic materials
- the origin of lahars on composite volcanoes
- eruptions of fluid lava from long fissures
- One other Cascade Range volcano besides Mount St. Helens has erupted since
1900. It is:
- Mount Hood, Oregon
- Mount Adams, Washington
- Mount Lassen, California
- Mount Mazama, Oregon
- Mount Garibaldi, British Columbia
- Volcanic or extrusive igneous rocks form by the cooling and crystallization of lava flows and the
- crystallization of magma beneath the surface
- consolidation of pyroclastic materials
- reaction of volcanic gases with the atmosphere
- heating of sedimentary rocks beneath lava flows
- all of these
- Which is associated with basaltic magma:
- shield volcanoes
- explosive eruptions
- nuees ardentes
- batholiths
- Small, steep-sided cones that form on the surfaces of lava flows where gases escape are:
- lava tubes
- pahoehoe
- spatter cones
- volcanic bombs
- columnar joints
- Much of the upper part of the oceanic crust is composed of interconnected bulbous masses of igneous rock called:
- pillow lava
- parasitic cones
- lapilli
- blocks
- pyroclastic material
- Shield volcanoes have low slopes because they are composed of:
- mostly pyroclastic layers
- felsic magma
- lahars and viscous lava flows
- pillow lavas
- fluid mafic lava flows
- Which is most dangerous to humans:
- nuee ardente or
pyroclastic flow
- pahoehoe
- lava flows
- pillow lava
- volcanic bombs
- A lava flow with a surface of jagged blocks is termed:
- lapilli
- obsidian
- vesicular
- pyroclastic sheet deposit
- aa
- Most calderas form by:
- summit collapse
- forceful injection
- explosions
- erosion of lava domes
- fissure eruptions
- An igneous rock possessing mineral grains large enough to be seen without magnification is said to have a _____ texture
- porphyritic
- phaneritic
- aphanitic
- vesicular
- fragmental
- What are the two major kinds of igneous rocks:
- volcanic and eruptive
- volcanic and plutonic
- granitic and plutonic
- sills and lava
- dikes and batholiths
- Crater Lake in Oregon is an excellent example of a:
- caldera
- basalt plateau
- cinder cone
- lava dome
- shield volcano
- The volcanic conduit of a lava dome is most commonly plugged by:
- mafic magma
- volcanic mudflows
- columnar joints
- spatter cones
- viscous, felsic magma
- The largest volcano in the world (height, volume, or diameter) is:
- Mount St. Helens, Washington
- Mount Vesuvius, Italy
- Mount Etna, Sicily
- Mauna Loa, Hawaii
- Fujiyama, Japan
- The only area where fissure eruptions are currently occurring is:
- the Red Sea
- Iceland
- western South America
- Japan
- the Pacific Northwest
- Why is silica the major component of magma:
- it melts at low temperatures
- it retains heat well
- it dissolves other rocks
- it is so abundant
- Which of the following pairs of igneous rocks have the same mineral
composition?
- granite-tuff
- basalt-gabbro
- andesite-rhyolite
- peridotite-andesite
- pumice-diorite
- Which of the following is a concordant pluton:
- sill
- dike
- stock
- batholith
- volcanic neck
- Batholiths are composed mostly of what type of rock:
- granitic
- andesite
- gabbro
- periodotite
- basalt
- Most active volcanoes are in:
- the Mediterranean belt
- the circum-Pacific belt
- the Hawaiian Islands
- the oceanic ridge belt
- Iceland
- The magma generated beneath spreading ridges is mostly:
- mafic
- intermediate
- felsic
- answers (a) and (b) only
- all of these
- The volcanoes of _____ are unrelated to either a divergent or a convergent plate margin.
- East Africa
- the Hawaiian Islands
- the mid-oceanic ridges
- Iceland
- the Cascade Range
- Volcanic rocks can usually be distinguished from plutonic rocks by:
- color
- the size of their mineral grains
- composition
- specific gravity
- iron-magnesium content
- One of history's best-known volcanic eruptions was the eruption that destroyed Pompeii in 79 A.D. How was Pompeii destroyed:
- It was buried by lava flows.
- It was buried by mudflows.
- It was swept away by a volcanic sea wave.
- It was buried by ash, which later hardened into rock.
- Vesuvius is one of a chain of volcanoes along the southern coast of Italy, marking a:
- mid-ocean ridge.
- subduction zone.
- flood basalt province.
- rift valley.
- For every lava flow that erupts from a volcano, what quantity of molten rock hardens beneath the surface:
- only a few per cent
- about the same
- two or three times as much
- many times as much
- When mantle material melts, it usually forms magma of what composition:
- basalt
- rhyolite
- andesite
- dunite
- Volcanoes on oceanic crust erupt mostly magma of what composition:
- basalt
- rhyolite
- andesite
- dunite
- What type of volcanism is most rarely associated with rifting of continents:
- basalt
- rhyolite
- andesite
- Subduction zones on the continents display the widest variety of igneous activity. As a rule the earliest volcanic products tend to be:
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- basalt and rhyolite
- As subduction zones on continents evolve, later magmas become progressively ______.
- richer in iron.
- poorer in silica.
- richer in magnesium.
- richer in silica.
- The largest intrusions in area and volume are:
- stocks.
- batholiths.
- laccoliths.
- lopoliths.
- The islands of Hawaii are:
- shield volcanoes
- stratovolcanoes
- plug domes
- fissure flows
- Which of the following is not an important flood basalt area:
- Oregon and Washington
- large areas in India
- parts of Siberia
- central Australia
- Flood basalts are usually related to:
- subduction zones.
- hot spots or rifts.
- batholiths.
- mountain ranges
- The most commonest intermediate volcanic rock is:
- andesite.
- basalt
- rhyolite
- diorite
- Stratovolcanoes are composed of :
- rhyolite flows.
- alternating layers of lava, mudflow deposits, and pyroclastic debris.
- mudflows and volcanic ash.
- loose pyroclastic debris.
- Why is lava, in itself, a comparatively minor safety hazard:
- Lava flows usually move slowly, and there is usually enough advance warning to permit escape.
- Lava hardens as it moves.
- both a. and b
- none of the above
- Most andesite stratovolcanoes occur at:
- continental rifts
- hot spots.
- subduction zones.
- oceanic rifts.
- Shield volcanoes are the largest of all volcanoes by what measures:
- height
- volume
- mass
- diameter
- all of the above
- The property of magma that governs the type of volcano built and the violence of its eruptions is:
- density
- temperature
- depth of origin
- viscosity
- Which of the following materials has the highest viscosity?
- hot asphalt
- honey
- milk
- water
- Which of the following magmas has the highest viscosity?
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- diorite
- Which of the following magmas is most likely to build a shield volcano?
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- diorite
- Which is the least likely to cause casualties during a volcanic eruption?
- mudflows
- pyroclastic flows
- fast-moving lava flows that arrive without warning
- building collapse from ash falls
- Volcanic ash is:
- rock dust ejected by the volcano.
- remains of materials burned by hot lava.
- minerals that condense from volcanic gases.
- loose soil picked up by the wind after eruptions.
- Which of the following magmas is most likely to be associated with violent
eruptions?
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- diorite
- The process by which intrusions "nibble" their way upward by breaking off pieces of overlying rock is called:
- stoping.
- forceful injection.
- injection fracturing
- undermining.
- Which of the following magmas has the lowest viscosity?
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- diorite
- Which of the following magmas is most likely to be associated with a pyroclastic
flow?
- rhyolite
- basalt
- andesite
- diorite
- All the following properties of volcanoes and eruptions tend to be associated, except one. The property that does not belong in this list is:
- non-violent eruptions.
- pyroclastic flows.
- shield volcanoes.
- fluid lavas with low viscosity.
- On the atomic scale, the property that governs magma viscosity, type of volcano formed, and eruptive violence is:
- average size of ions.
- average charge of ions.
- linkage of silica
tetrahedra.
- ratio of large and small ions.
- Mount Vesuvius, Mount Fuji, Mount Rainier, and most of the other well-known volcanoes of the world are :
- cinder cones.
- shield volcanoes.
- stratovolcanoes.
- flood basalts.
- Sometimes, rhyolite lava emerges from a new vent and oozes out to form a:
- fissure eruption.
- plug dome
- cinder cone
- pyroclastic flow
- Before the advent of rapid communication and transportation for relief efforts, probably the greatest danger from volcanoes was:
- lava flows that struck without warning.
- weather disturbances caused by distant eruptions
- inability to evacuate people in danger
- starvation due to environmental disruption
- Most of the gas erupted by a volcano is ordinary steam, and most of the remainder is
- hydrogen chloride
- hydrogen sulfide
- carbon dioxide.
- radon
- The worst volcanic gas disaster known occurred in the African nation of Cameroon in 1986 It was:
- an outburst of carbon dioxide that suffocated many people.
- a sudden, explosive release of hot gases.
- emission of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide.
- emission of toxic gases that poisoned crops.
- The vents of many older volcanoes become so plugged with hardened lava that the vent may be permanently relocated and a new cone built on the flanks of the old one. Such a cone is called:
- a cinder cone
- a flank cone
- a parasitic cone.
- a plug dome
- If the magma pressure drops beneath a volcano, the volcano may subside to form a basin called a:
- rift valley.
- deflation basin.
- crater.
- caldera.
- A caldera is different from a volcanic crater in what way:
- A crater is usually much larger than a caldera.
- A caldera forms by explosion but a crater forms by subsidence.
- A caldera forms by subsidence but a crater forms by explosion.
- A caldera forms by erosion but a crater forms by explosion.
- Crater Lake in Oregon actually fills a:
- rift basin
- caldera
- sinkhole
- deflation basin.
- When volcanoes collapse in the sea, the results are often especially violent. Two of the most violent such eruptions were:
- Krakatoa and Thera.
- Vesuvius and Etna.
- Krakatoa and Mauna Loa.
- Surtsey and Paricutin.
- A former volcano in Oregon, Mount Mazama, is now the site of:
- Mount Hood
- Mount St. Helens
- Mount Shasta
- Crater Lake
- Yellowstone National Park is an example of:
- a hot spot on a continent.
- a collapsed magma chamber.
- a flood basalt province.
- both a. and b.
- all of the above
- Stratovolcanoes collapse because:
- they are weakly-cemented piles of lava flows, ash layers and mudflow deposits.
- acidic gases and solutions weaken the volcano from within.
- they accumulate glaciers whose weight collapses the volcano
- both a. and b.
- all of the above.
- The type of volcano that generally has the shortest active lifespan:
- cinder cones
- shield volcanoes
- stratovolcanoes
- plug domes
- A volcano is considered extinct if:
- it has not erupted in 100 years.
- it has not erupted in 1,000 years.
- it has not erupted in 10,000 years.
- there is no sure way to determine if a volcano is extinct.
- The rock invaded by an intrusion is called:
- sedimentary rock.
- metamorphic rock
- country rock.
- background rock.
- A sill-like intrusion with a blister-like form that arches overlying rocks upward:
- laccolith
- stock
- lopolith
- pluton
- Lopoliths are enormous intrusions, usually of gabbro or related rocks, that may be kilometers thick and cover hundreds of square kilometers. In form they are similar to very large:
- dikes
- plutons
- laccoliths
- sills
- The general term for a non-tabular intrusion is a:
- stock.
- pluton.
- dike.
- batholith.
- Very large batholiths like the Sierra Nevada Batholith are:
- made up of dozens or even hundreds of smaller intrusions.
- mostly of gabbro.
- only a kilometer of so thick.
- uniform masses of rock that formed from a single vast magma body.
- Geophysical methods show that most batholiths are:
- spherical in shape.
- 50 kilometers or more thick.
- made of dunite at great depths.
- lens-like masses only a few kilometers thick.
- Although volcanic ash is most widely mentioned in news reports, the most significant global effects of volcanic eruptions are actually produced by:
- heat from lava flows
- melting of glaciers during eruptions
- destruction of vegetation
- aerosols.
- The best-documented global cooling by a volcanic eruption occurred after the eruption of:
- Vesuvius in 79 A. D.
- Krakatoa in 1883.
- the Indonesian volcano Tambora in 1815.
- Mount Katmai in 1912.
- Flood basalts might have very significant global effects because:
- they release so much heat.
- they cover vast areas with dark rocks, trapping solar heat.
- they melt polar glaciers.
- the sulfur content of basaltic lava is about ten times that of rhyolite.
- Volcanic aerosols are made up of:
- fine rock powder
- tiny droplets of sulfuric acid
- tiny droplets of water vapor
- microscopic ice crystals.
- Mount Pelee caused great loss of life during its 1902 eruption because of a:
- pyroclastic flow.
- lava flow.
- mudflow
- heavy ash fall that collapsed buildings.
- Nevado Ruiz erupted in 1985 and killed 20,000 people because of:
- pyroclastic flow.
- lava flow.
- mudflow
- heavy ash fall that collapsed buildings.
- Most batholiths are actually made up of dozens or even hundreds of smaller intrusions.
- True
- False
- Most batholiths are spherical masses many tens of kilometers thick.
- True
- False
- Very few intrusions melt their way through the crust.
- True
- False
- Many intrusions move upward because magma is less dense than most solid rocks.
- True
- False
- A large batholith takes only a few decades to solidify.
- True
- False
- Pompeii was preserved because it was buried by a lava flow.
- True
- False
- Molten rock beneath the surface is called magma,
- True
- False
- Igneous activity along mid-ocean ridges creates the crust of the ocean floors.
- True
- False
- Volcanic carbon dioxide may warm global climate and inhibit glaciation.
- True
- False
- The melting point temperature of most materials decreases as pressure increases.
- True
- False
- If hot material rises quickly to a shallow level where the melting point is low, it may melt.
- True
- False
- Water raises the melting points of igneous rocks.
- True
- False
- Magma rises to the surface because it is less dense than solid rock.
- True
- False
- Volcanoes like Kilauea in Hawaii that erupt silica-poor lavas are sometimes so non-violent that tourists can safely approach within a few hundred meters of an eruption.
- True
- False
- Silica-poor magmas are associated with the most violent eruptions; unfortunately, these are the magmas that occur on the continents where people live.
- True
- False
- Basalt builds broad domes called shield volcanoes.
- True
- False
- Flood basalts are usually related to hot spots or the rifting of continents.
- True
- False
- The most common intermediate volcanic rock is diorite.
- True
- False
- Stratovolcanoes are composed of alternating layers of lava, mudflow deposits, and pyroclastic debris.
- True
- False
- Volcanic ash has nothing to do with burning; it is nothing more than pulverized rock.
- True
- False
- When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, geologists became aware of how
important this process is in the history of volcanoes:
- Ash flows
- Collapse
- Mudflows
- Lava flows
- Gas emissions
- A pyroclastic flow is most likely to deposit:
- Pumice
- Obsidian
- Basalt
- Andesite
- Diorite
- Andesite and basalt are difficult to tell apart but the difference is
important because
- Andesite is volcanic while basalt is plutonic
- Basalt is volcanic while andesite is plutonic
- Basalt has mixed with continental crust but andesite hasn’t
- Andesite has mixed with continental crust but basalt hasn’t
- Andesite is commercially valuable while basalt is not
- Obsidian is a natural form of
- Styrofoam
- Concrete
- Glass
- Ceramic
- Brick
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Created 30 Dec 1996, Last Update
13 December 2004
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