Basalt vs. Rhyolite

Basaltnoun

(mineral) A hard mafic igneous rock of varied mineral content; volcanic in origin, which makes up much of the Earth's oceanic crust.

Rhyolitenoun

(geology) An igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock, of felsic composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture.

Basaltnoun

A type of unglazed pottery.

Rhyolitenoun

A quartzose trachyte, an igneous rock often showing a fluidal structure.

Basaltnoun

A rock of igneous origin, consisting of augite and triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also bottle-green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.

Rhyolitenoun

very acid volcanic rock

Basaltnoun

An imitation, in pottery, of natural basalt; a kind of black porcelain.

Rhyolite

Rhyolite ( RY-ə-lyte) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained rock.

Basaltnoun

the commonest type of solidified lava; a dense dark gray fine-grained igneous rock composed chiefly of calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene

Basalt

Basalt (US: , UK: ) is a fine-grained extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or a moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt.