Magma

:This article is about the type of molten rock. For other meanings of magma, see Magma (disambiguation).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Magma is molten rock often located inside a magma chamber beneath the surface of the Earth. Magma is a complex high-temperature silicate solution that is ancestral to all igneous rocks. It is capable of intrusion into adjacent crustal rocks or extrusion onto the surface. Magma exists between 650 and 1200 °C. Magma is under high pressure and sometimes emerges through volcanic vents in the form of flowing lava (melt as it exists above the Earth's surface) and pyroclastic ejecta. These products of a volcanic eruption usually contain liquids, crystals and dissolved gases which have never before reached the planet's surface. Magma collects in many separate magma chambers within the Earth's crust, and will have slightly different compositions in different places, which can occur at either a subduction zone, a rift zone or mid-oceanic ridge, or above a mantle plume hotspot. Magma's formation only takes place under specific conditions in the Earth's asthenosphere.

Related Topics:
Rock - Magma chamber - Earth - Silicate - Solution - Igneous rock - High pressure - Volcanic - Lava - Pyroclastic - Ejecta - Crust - Subduction zone - Rift zone - Mid-oceanic ridge - Mantle plume - Hotspot - Asthenosphere

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~