rhyolite

[rahy-uh-lahyt]

noun

1. a fine-grained igneous rock rich in silica: the volcanic equivalent of granite.

rhyolite

/ ˈraɪəˌlaɪt, ˌraɪəˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. a fine-grained igneous rock consisting of quartz, feldspars, and mica or amphibole. It is the volcanic equivalent of granite

rhyolite

1. A usually light-colored, fine-grained extrusive igneous rock that is compositionally similar to granite. It often includes flow lines formed during the extrusion.

Other Word Forms

• rhyolitic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhyolite¹

1865–70; rhyo- (irregular < Greek rhýax stream of lava) + -lite

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhyolite¹

C19: rhyo- from Greek rhuax a stream of lava + _lite

Example Sentences

The rest spilled across this ancient seabed and formed a fine-grained rhyolite.

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No one is sure how the continent-forming magma originates; one idea is that basaltic magma gets altered by seawater, remelts, and eventually erupts from volcanoes as rhyolite.

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Here's how you get garnets grown in rhyolite:

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We conclude that the composition of calcalkaline rhyolites is decisive in determining the mobilization and eruption dynamics of Earth’s largest volcanic systems, resulting in a better understanding of how the melt structure controls volcanic processes.

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In Savennières, the vineyards are largely schist, sandstone and rhyolite, a volcanic rock.

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