spilite

▪ rock

      fine-grained or dense, extrusive igneous (volcanic) rock that is usually free of visible crystals and is commonly greenish or grayish green in colour. Spilites are of basaltic character but contain the feldspar albite in place of the normal labradorite. The dark mineral is a pale-brown augite; spilites are, however, usually decomposed, and augite is represented by chlorite and calcite.

      Spilites are often blistered or pocked and show a wonderfully preserved pillow structure, a feature in most cases indicative of lavas of submarine origin. The individual pillows are filled with concentric zones of vesicles containing chlorite and calcite. Some spilites showing pillow structure are not strictly lavas but are shallow intrusions into unconsolidated submarine ooze. Excellent examples of such intrusive spilites are those found at Nundle, N.S.W., Australia.

      The term spilite was first used for altered mafic lavas free from phenocrysts and possessing well-marked vesicular textures, but now it denotes a large suite of igneous rocks genetically associated with the spilites. The composition of the rocks in this suite varies widely, but all possess a high percentage of soda and are usually extensively altered. The rocks included are picrites, keratophyres, and sodic granites. Spilitic eruptions have occurred repeatedly over a wide area and on a large scale.

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