i have a question for homework that says describe the developments of a Batholith. i don't know how to answer it or what it means. please help|||A batholith is a large body of igneous rock. In very basic terms of development they are emplaced in liquid form, ie a magma, within 'country rock' and crystallise (to be seen at surface erosion has to have occurred.
In more complex terms, batholiths are made up of a number of smaller plutons of igneous rocks that have risen in molten form through the 'country rock' by pushing the colder, more dense material aside and/or partial melting. Chemically they tend to be felsic or intermediate in composition. Crystallisation does not occur all at the same time and therefore different rock types will be present within a batholith. Early stages tend to be finer grained and less felsic, late stages tend to coarse (even pegmatitic) and more felsic.
In economic terms batholiths can be used for there stone content (aggregate etc) but may also be host to gold, tin, wolfram and other in-compatible elements close to, at or just outside the contact zone with the host rock.
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