Xenolith

Xenolith

Xenolith ( other Greek: ξένος - alien and λίθος - stone), a piece of rock captured by magma. If the igneous rock including xenolith solidified at a depth (intrusive), then xenoliths are usually strongly altered fragments of the rocks containing the intrusion . The xenoliths found in lava are usually fragments of the walls of the volcanic channel (the rocks through which the lava passed). The sizes of xenoliths vary greatly: from individual crystals and their fragments, distinguished only under a microscope ( xenocrystals ), to several tens and hundreds of meters ^[1] . Xenoliths are an important source of information on the structure of the Earth's interior, since they can be delivered by magmatic melts from depths inaccessible for direct study. Alkaline basalts contain mantle xenoliths raised from depths of 60–80 km, and xenoliths brought from depths of 100–200 km are found in kimberlites . Xenoliths from kimberlites are the most deep-seated rocks studied by man.