Article
Article
Diorite
Article By:
Rose, William Ingersoll, Jr. Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan.
Last reviewed:March 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.197300
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A phaneritic (visibly crystallized) plutonic rock having intermediate SiO2 content (53–66%), composed mainly of plagioclase (oligoclase or andesine) and one or more ferromagnesian minerals (hornblende, biotite, or pyroxene), and having a granular texture. Diorite is the plutonic equivalent of andesite (a volcanic rock). This dark gray rock is used occasionally as a building stone and is known commercially as black granite (see illustration). See also: Igneous rocks
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