Sample No.

17
Sample type: rock sample
Rock name: crystal tuff of intermediate composition
Rock type: pyroclastic rock
Texture: tuffacious texture
with fine crystals embedded with in
Mineral composition: the tuffactious material is composed
of feldspars and quartz
The crystals are of plagioclase, quartz and biotite
The plagioclase crystals are subhedral to euhedral in
form and show a simple twining and show zoning
The quartz crystals are less abundant
Biotite crystals are tabular in form and sow
a green color
Alteration: the rock is moderately affected by alteration
The alteration products are sericite-muscovite
chlorite, epidote and carbonate
Opaques: very common; they are found scattered
in the tuffacious groundmass as tiny irregular grains
CONTINENTAL ARC VOLCANISM IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST:

DETERMINING THE TYPE OF VOLCANIC DEPOSIT

Objective: In class you learned about the continental arc volcanism of the
Pacific Northwest. In

this diverse environment pyroclastic and lava flows deposits are observed
throughout. The

objective of this lab is to discriminate between these two main groups of

volcanic deposits and

then further sub-classify based on the group in which the sample falls. In
the continental arc

environment, most lava flow deposits will be porphyritic with a fine-

grained, homogenous

groundmass while pyroclastic deposits exhibit characteristic fragmental

texture, flow banding,

and commonly a glassy matrix. For a pyroclastic deposit, determine the

type of tuff based on

fragment type (Fig. 1a) and, if possible, grain size (Fig. 1b). For lava flows,
determine if the

flow is basaltic, andesitic, or rhyolitic based on the observed mineral

assemblages. For example,

samples which contain lots of hornblende are typically intermediate

(andesitic) in composition.

Procedure: Select 6 thin sections and hand samples from the 20 or so

samples laid out in the

class. For each sample, determine flow type and give the rock a name
based on the basic

principles laid out in the objective. Make sure to provide evidence for your
classification (i.e.

rock contains copious amounts of hornblende, therefore this porphyritic

volcanic rock is an

andesite). Attach your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

CLASSIFICATION OF PYROCLASTIC ROCKS

Figure 1. “Classification of the pyroclastic rocks. a. Based on type of
material. After Pettijohn (1975)

Sedimentary Rocks, Harper & Row, and Schmid (1981) Geology, 9, 40-43.
b. Based on the size of the
material. After Fisher (1966) Earth Sci. Rev., 1, 287-298.”. Winter (2001)
Figure 2-5.