crystalline rock

Any rock composed entirely of crystallized minerals without glassy matter (matter without visible crystals).

Intrusive igneous rocks (see intrusive rock) are nearly always crystalline; extrusive igneous rocks (see extrusive rock) may be partly to entirely glassy. Metamorphic rocks are also always completely crystalline and are termed crystalline schists or gneisses. Sedimentary rocks can also be crystalline, such as crystalline limestones that precipitate directly from solution; the term is not generally applied to clastic sediments (made of fragments of preexisting rock), even though they are formed largely from the accumulation of crystalline materials.

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      any rock composed entirely of crystallized minerals without glassy matter. Intrusive igneous rocks (igneous rock)—those that congeal at depth—are virtually always crystalline, whereas extrusive igneous rocks, or volcanic rocks, may be partly to entirely glassy. Many factors influence the ability of a magma to crystallize, but the length of time during which cooling occurs is the controlling factor. Metamorphic rocks are almost always crystalline; the term crystalline schists (schist) has been applied to indicate all rocks of metamorphic origin, and thus the term crystalline rocks may be taken to mean an igneous origin. Sedimentary rocks (sedimentary rock) can also be crystalline, such as the crystalline limestones precipitated directly from solution; the term is not generally applied to the clastic sediments, even though they are formed largely from the accumulation of crystalline materials.

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