**FACT SNACK**

January 14

It Came From Beneath the Earth
What do you get when magma cools and hardens beneath the earth, and is finally pushed upward? A batholith. A batholith is a large mass of rock that has solidified deep underground. Batholiths are the largest of all igneous intrusions. They are formed by the massive invasion of hot magma into country rock. Such a large intrusion can melt or metamorphose most rocks.	Mt. Rushmore is carved into plutonic rocks of a batholith in the Black Hills, South Dakota. Recipe for a Batholith. A batholith is formed when molten rock from even deeper down injects itself into solid formations already in place. It pushes those formations apart and can raise the surface layers, miles above. Beneath the Volcano. Batholiths are caused by an enormous mass of intrusive igneous rock ~ rock made of formerly molten material that has solidified below the earth's surface. Take Nothing for Granite. Batholiths usually have a granite composition. They have steeply inclined walls and no visible floors. They often extend over thousands of square miles.	One or Many? Batholiths can be formed either as one large mass or many smaller masses at great depths in the earth's crust. They become exposed at the surface only after there has been considerable erosion of the overlying mountain. Big Batholiths. One of the largest single batholiths in North America is the Coast Range batholith of West Canada and Alaska, which covers an area of about 73,000 square miles. Important batholiths in the United States include the Idaho batholith, which is 18,000 square miles, and the 16,000 square mile Sierra Nevada batholith. Link for More. Inside a batholith. Idaho batholith. The granite of these hills [of the Baja Batholith] was originally magma which cooled slowly deep beneath a volcanic arc millions of years ago.

FACT SNACK

January 14

It Came From Beneath the Earth

What do you get when magma cools and hardens beneath the earth, and is finally pushed upward? A batholith. A batholith is a large mass of rock that has solidified deep underground.

Batholiths are the largest of all igneous intrusions. They are formed by the massive invasion of hot magma into country rock. Such a large intrusion can melt or metamorphose most rocks.

Mt. Rushmore is carved into plutonic rocks of a batholith in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Recipe for a Batholith. A batholith is formed when molten rock from even deeper down injects itself into solid formations already in place. It pushes those formations apart and can raise the surface layers, miles above.

Beneath the Volcano. Batholiths are caused by an enormous mass of intrusive igneous rock ~ rock made of formerly molten material that has solidified below the earth's surface.

Take Nothing for Granite. Batholiths usually have a granite composition. They have steeply inclined walls and no visible floors. They often extend over thousands of square miles.

One or Many? Batholiths can be formed either as one large mass or many smaller masses at great depths in the earth's crust. They become exposed at the surface only after there has been considerable erosion of the overlying mountain.

Big Batholiths. One of the largest single batholiths in North America is the Coast Range batholith of West Canada and Alaska, which covers an area of about 73,000 square miles. Important batholiths in the United States include the Idaho batholith, which is 18,000 square miles, and the 16,000 square mile Sierra Nevada batholith.

Link for More.

Inside a batholith.

Idaho batholith.

The granite of these hills [of the Baja Batholith] was originally magma which cooled slowly deep beneath a volcanic arc millions of years ago.