basalt

[ buh-sawlt, bas-awlt, bey-sawlt ]

noun

1. the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of labradorite and pyroxene and often displaying a columnar structure.

basalt

/ ˈbæsɔːlt /

noun

1. See flood basalt
   a fine-grained dark basic igneous rock consisting of plagioclase feldspar, a pyroxene, and olivine: the most common volcanic rock and usually extrusive See flood basalt
2. a form of black unglazed pottery resembling basalt

basalt

/ bə-sôlt′,bā′sôlt′ /

1. A dark, fine-grained, igneous rock consisting mostly of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene, and sometimes olivine. Basalt makes up most of the ocean floor and is the most common type of lava. It sometimes cools into characteristic hexagonal columns, as in the Giant's Causeway in Anterim, Northern Island. It is the fine-grained equivalent of gabbro.

basalt

1. A hard, dense igneous rock that makes up much of the material in tectonic plates . The part of the Earth 's crust beneath the oceans consists mainly of basalt whereas continental crust consists mainly of less dense rocks, such as granite . ( See plate tectonics .)

Derived Forms

• baˈsaltic, adjective

Other Words From

• ba·saltic ba·sal·tine [b, uh, -, sawl, -tin, -tahyn], adjective
• subba·saltic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of basalt¹

1595–1605; < Latin basaltēs, a misreading, in manuscripts of Pliny, of basanītēs < Greek basanī́tēs ( líthos ) touchstone, equivalent to básan ( os ) touchstone (ultimately < Egyptian bh̬n ( w ) graywacke) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of basalt¹

C18: from Late Latin basaltēs , variant of basanītēs , from Greek basanitēs touchstone, from basanos , of Egyptian origin

Example Sentences

Samples from the Moon, like this lunar basalt, are a complex mix of many minerals, and only some can record signals of past magnetic fields.

From Singularity Hub 

In another similarity to Mars, the eruption involves basalt, a magma with a honeylike viscosity.

From Quanta Magazine

Beneath the basalt was a dense oceanic rock known as gabbro.

From Science News For Students

The basalt there—a kind of volcanic rock—is famous for being the oldest on Earth, yielding up evidence for the earliest life on our planet, early plate tectonics, and now, it appears, an even more ancient era.

From Singularity Hub 

In summer, hop the seasonal shuttle from the ski town of Mammoth Lakes to visit Devils Postpile National Monument and its massive stack of perfectly geometric basalt columns, a dazzling reminder of the area’s ancient volcanic history.

From Outside Online

Somewhere in the basalt hills a lion roared, the sound carrying through the night until another responded.

From The Daily Beast

Here there are many craters and much basalt, or even lava; also hot springs.

From Project Gutenberg

The whole is built of basalt with yellow marble columns, and yellow marble bands here and there.

From Project Gutenberg

They had also said something about pot holes like shafts in the basalt.

From Project Gutenberg

Then she rose up and passing amongst them as a friend amongst friends came towards the caves in the basalt cliffs.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no getting round that drop, it was a basalt step that circled the whole Lizard Point on its seaward side.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• magma
• slag