Phaneritic texture

Phaneritic texture is an igneous texture in which mineral crystals are large enough to be seen without magnification, typically because magma cooled slowly underground.

Crystallization: The formation of an ordered solid from a liquid, vapor, or solution. Magma crystallizes into the interlocking mineral grains that define this texture.
Igneous rock: Rock formed when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies. Phaneritic texture describes the visible crystal fabric of this rock family.
Aphanitic texture: An igneous texture with crystals too small to identify individually without magnification. It contrasts with phaneritic texture in crystal visibility and typical cooling setting.
Granite: A coarse-grained felsic intrusive igneous rock composed chiefly of quartz and feldspar. Its interlocking, visible crystals are a classic phaneritic example.
Bowen's reaction series: A model describing the order in which silicate minerals crystallize as magma cools. Mineral assemblages in coarse-grained rocks can be interpreted alongside crystallization order.
Cooling rate: The rate at which a material loses heat over time. Slow cooling usually gives crystals time to grow large enough to see.
Mineral: A naturally occurring crystalline solid with a defined chemical composition and structure. The visible grains are mineral crystals, rather than separate fragments of rock.
Porphyritic texture: An igneous texture with larger crystals set in a finer-grained groundmass. Its distinct large crystals and fine matrix record more than one stage of cooling.
Diorite: An intrusive igneous rock of intermediate composition, commonly containing plagioclase and amphibole. Its visible light and dark minerals make phaneritic texture readily apparent.
QAPF diagram: A classification chart for plutonic igneous rocks based on quartz, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, and feldspathoids. Once a coarse rock's minerals are visible, their proportions can help classify it.

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TonaliteRelated: Slow cooling underground produces tonalite’s coarse-grained texture.