Internal Processes / Volcanism & Plutonic Landforms - Plutonic
Preliminary questions
Plutons
- Plutons - magma never
reaches surface and solidifies beneath Earth’s surface
- pressure and heat
intrudes, deforms and changes adjacent rocks
- exposed after millions
of years and miles of erosion
- range in chemical
rock composition
- lighter granite
to darker gabbro
Major types of plutons
- Batholith - largest
plutonic feature
- solidified magma & plutons
- Sierra Nevada
Mountains
- Colorado's Front Range
- Usually hundreds
miles long
- intruded and
metamorphosed rocks
- quartz, serpentine,
slate, gold
- Other features:
