Lamprophyre

lamprophyre, any of a group of dark gray to black intrusive igneous rocks that generally occur as dikes (tabular bodies inserted in fissures). Such rocks are characterized by a porphyritic texture in which large crystals (phenocrysts) of dark, iron-magnesium (mafic) minerals are enclosed in a fine-grained to dense matrix (groundmass). The abundance, large size, well-formed crystal outline, and brilliantly reflecting cleavage faces of the mafic phenocrysts give the rock a striking appearance. Mafic minerals, including biotite, hornblende, augite, or olivine, not only constitute virtually all of the phenocrysts but occur in the groundmass as well, together with much potash feldspar, plagioclase, or feldspathoid.

Petrographically, lamprophyres are set apart from most other igneous rocks by the presence of mafics, by the lack of feldspar phenocrysts, and by the abundance of mafics combined with alkali-rich feldspar. Chemically, the lamprophyres are unique because of their low silica content and a high iron, magnesium, and alkali content. The commonest lamprophyres are associated with large masses of granite and diorite. Classic examples occur in the Highlands and southern uplands of Scotland, the Lake District of Ireland, the Vosges, the Black Forest, and the Harz Mountains.

Lamprophyres show a strong tendency to weather and decompose. Many have been altered, undoubtedly while the rocks lay some distance beneath the surface. The common alteration products include carbonate, chlorite, serpentine, and limonite.