Link to USGS home page
USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS
Coastal & Marine Geology InfoBank

USGS CMG InfoBank: Igneous Rocks

Skip navigational links
Search InfoBank
Home tab FACS tab Activities tab Atlas tab Geology School tab More tab More tab Geology School tabs
   
Dictionaries: The USGS and Science Education   USGS Fact Sheets   Topics   Keywords   Data Dictionary   Metadata Dictionary   Computer Terminology   Digital Formats
InfoBank Terms: Activity ID   activity overview   crew   formal metadata   lines   metadata   NGDC   port stops   project/theme   region   ship   stations   time   virtual globe   year  
Data Types: bathymetry   geodetic positioning   gravity   ground penetrating radar   imagery   LIDAR   magnetics   metering equipment   navigation   samples   seismic   definitions disclaimer  
Data Formats: ARC coverage   E00   FGDC metadata   gridded/image   imaging   material   scattered/swath   Shapefile   vector/polygon  
   
Comment: 02:04 - 03:09 (01:05)

Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed - 14. Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Keywords: volcano, "James Hutton", "Abraham Vernor", granite, Scotland, "igneous rock", eruption, volcano, magma

Our transcription: The study of igneous rocks began in the 1780s when Scotsman James Hutton became embroiled in a controversy with another influential geologist, Abraham Vernor.

Vernor believed that the Earth was once covered entirely by a great ocean from which all rocks formed starting with granite.

Hutton disagreed. In exploring the highlands of Scotland, Hutton observed veins of granitic rock slicing across sedimentary strata.

He reasoned that the granite must have been injected into the strata as a molten liquid and not been precipitated from a primordial sea.

He made a link between granites formed at depth and the quickly cooling deposits of erupting volcanoes.

Both are products of molten liquid or magma from Earth's interior.

Thanks to Hutton, geologists recognized a new class of rocks called "igneous", literally fire formed rocks.

Geology School Keywords

Skip footer navigational links


InfoBank   Menlo Park & Santa Cruz Centers   St. Petersburg Center   Woods Hole Center   Coastal and Marine Geology Program   Geologic Information   Ask-A-Geologist   USGS Disclaimer  

FirstGov button   Take Pride in America button