basalt Hear it!

basalt Definition

ba·salt (bə sôlt′; bā′sôlt′, bas′ ôlt′)

noun

  1. a dark, fine-grained, usually extrusive igneous rock that is more basic than andesite, consisting chiefly of plagioclase feldspars and pyroxene: often found in vast sheets, it is the most common extrusive igneous rock
  2. a kind of unglazed, black pottery designed by Josiah Wedgwood

Etymology: earlier basaltes < L, a dark Ethiopian marble: term used by Pliny for basanites < Gr basanitēs, species of slate used to test gold < basanos, touchstone, test (ult. < Egypt bḫnw) + -itēs, -ite

basalt Related Forms
ba·sal′·tic (bə sôlt′ik) adjective
basalt Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • overlie: Between these are structurally weaker palaeosol horizons of weathered basalt that encourage localized collapse as the wear back and undermine the overlying basalt.
  • call: This insight was confirmed by samples collected from the maria: they are a type of volcanic rock called basalt.

Adjective modifier

  • Tertiary: The LCA comprises 75 % Tertiary basalts, the remainder being the older, underlying units.
  • volcanic: Map ref: Directions: Carlin Maggie Stone Carlin Maggie's stone is a 40-foot natural stone column formed of volcanic basalt.
  • black: It is made out of locally found materials such as quartz, blue mussel shells, black basalt and worn down colored glass.
  • dark: The dark basalt overlies a thin band of chalk, which forms a strong contrast in color whenever it is visible.
  • vesicular: The three volcanic cones are relatively old and comprise late-stage fractionated and highly vesicular basalt.
  • hard: The little museum had a completely different feel with the hard black basalt, but because of that the carvings remained much sharper.

Modifies a noun

  • lava: These can erupt sheets of flood basalt lava at the Earth's surface.
  • escarpment: However, the summits along the edge of the basalt escarpment have much steeper slopes which plummet toward Belfast.
  • plateau: The surface of the basalt plateau is rolling, with a series of broad ridges aligned northwest to southeast.
  • dike: The tide got its own back, beating us to the Tertiary basalt dikes that cut the pillow lavas in places.
  • outcrop: The black basalt outcrops have a distinctive, sheer profile which is broken by a series of steep, wooded glens.
  • cliff: Your basalt cliffs Rose up that day like panic.

Noun used with modifier

  • columnar: A range of unusual minerals are present together with notable lava cooling features such as columnar basalts, chisel marks and blister surfaces.
  • flood: These can erupt sheets of flood basalt lava at the Earth's surface.
  • alkali: This may explain why alkali basalts carry mostly spinel peridotites although the magma originated at deeper depth of garnet peridotites zone.
  • ridge: Results imply that much of the source of North Atlantic ridge basalts has been contaminated by lateral outflow of asthenosphere from the Icelandic plume.
  • plateau: Blackburn is of particular interest as it provides evidence of active dissolution of the Ulster White Limestone underlying the plateau basalts.
  • ocean: His classic papers on ocean island basalts and oceanic crust were published at this time with Dan McKenzie, Ron Oxburgh and others.