Earth and the Environment

What does basalt look like?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/does-basalt-look-like-81083.html" >What does basalt look like?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

Where molten basalt cools rapidly, as at the earth's surface, fine-grained rocks are formed. Basalt may be compact or vesicular, i.e., porous because of gas bubbles contained in the lava while it is solidifying. If the vesicles become subsequently filled with secondary minerals, e.g., quartz or calcite, the rock is called amygdaloidal basalt. Basalt may form as columns of rock, such as the Devil's Tower in Wyoming; or it may form as twisted coils of rope, or cinders of jagged rock, called "pahoehoe" and "aa," respectively.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about basalt . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: How can you tell if the rock you're holding is basalt? What shapes can basalt form? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research questions

Related research articles

Solid and void: a masterly exercise in interpenetration of spaces allied with a...
Magazine article from: The Architectural Review ...garden walls of rough basalt and concrete and looks over a lightly wooded...fluidity of space, which does seem more like water flowing through...obstructions. Thick planes of basalt or concrete are sliced...delicately contrived: dark basalt walls around the entrance...
Manhattan Beach, CA: the whole point of having an outdoor kitchen is to sit...
Magazine article from: House Beautiful ...outdoor kitchen look like part of the landscape...not only how it looks out there, but how it will look from the house...so you don't look at them head...the natural. Look at that old candy...similar to the basalt we used on the...s a stone that looks a little ...
Stone-Age Survival: How to make emergency implements in the field.(Survival)
Magazine article from: Field & Stream (West ed.) ...human cells. What does this mean for a sportsman...glassy appearances, like chert and obsidian...simplest to make. Look for a smooth, oval...quartzite or dark basalt cobbles found along...piece of granite or basalt into rough shape...depending on your needs. BASALT RHYOLITE CHERT ...
Pass the adrenalin, please. (handicapped rock climbers, includes related...
Magazine article from: Palaestra If skiing is like chugging a shot glass...biotechnology. Harold does not get out to the...drive a car. But he does get out as much as...to 75-foot-high basalt walls which form a...nickel sized wedge of basalt. With the fingertips...below, making it look at best like an ...
OPEN WHEEL DRIVERS SEEK PLACE AT TOP KANAWYER, DONNER DALLENBACH CONTENDERS FOR...
Newspaper article from: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) ...back seat to the likes of Rod Millen...Dallenbach of Basalt (1993) and David...really don't look at it as that...Kanawyer's machine looks more like a sprint car. Donner's looks more like an IndyCar but...to be close. I like the competition...made for him. He ...
See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.