basalt

Basalt rock through a polarized microscope. Basalt is formed from solidified lava.

Basalt formations by the beach at Vik, in southern Iceland. Basalt is a hard, igneous rock, formed by the rapid cooling of magma as it comes in contact with air. These hexagonal columns are typical of basalt.

Columns of basalt at the coastal resort of Vik, in southern Iceland. These angular formations of igneous rock are created during cooling when contraction of the material produces joints which form a hexagonal pattern. Another example of such basalt formations is the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Commonest volcanic igneous rock in the Solar System. Basalt is an extrusive rock, created by the outpouring of volcanic magma. The magma cools quickly, allowing only small crystals to form. Much of the surfaces of the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, as well as the Moon, are composed of basalt. Earth's ocean floor is virtually entirely made of basalt. Basalt is mafic, that is, it contains relatively little silica: about 50% by weight. It is usually dark grey but can also be green, brown, or black. Its essential constituent minerals are calcium-rich feldspar, and calcium- and magnesium-rich pyroxene.

The groundmass may be glassy or finely crystalline, sometimes with large crystals embedded. Basaltic lava tends to be runny and flows for great distances before solidifying. Successive eruptions of basalt have formed the great plateaus of Colorado and the Deccan plateau region of southwest India. In some places, such as Fingal's Cave in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland and the Giant's Causeway in Antrim, Northern Ireland, shrinkage during the solidification of the molten lava caused the formation of hexagonal columns.

The dark-coloured lowland maria regions of the Moon are underlain by basalt. Lunar mare basalts have higher concentrations of titanium and zirconium and lower concentrations of volatile elements like potassium and sodium relative to terrestrial basalts. Martian basalts are characterized by low ratios of iron to manganese relative to terrestrial basalts, as judged from some Martian meteorites (shergottites, a class of the SNC meteorites) and spacecraft analyses of rocks and soils on the Martian surface.