Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Relating to or containing a group of dark-colored silicate minerals, composed chiefly of magnesium and iron, that occur in igneous rocks, including hornblende, pyroxene, olivine, and biotite.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective geology Describing rocks, such as
silicate minerals,magmas , and volcanic and intrusiveigneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations ofmagnesium andiron . - noun A rock with such properties.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The first type of vents occur throughout the world's mid-ocean ridges and are hosted by rocks that are rich in magnesium and iron -- called mafic rocks.
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The first type of vents occur throughout the world's mid-ocean ridges and are hosted by rocks that are rich in magnesium and iron -- called mafic rocks.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010
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The first type of vents occur throughout the world's mid-ocean ridges and are hosted by rocks that are rich in magnesium and iron -- called mafic rocks.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010
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The first type of vents occur throughout the world's mid-ocean ridges and are hosted by rocks that are rich in magnesium and iron -- called mafic rocks.
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As we collect and analyze this data, we try to identify certain aspects as belonging to a class of minerals, such as clays, sulfate or mafic silicates.
SETI Institute: Life at the SETI Institute: Janice Bishop -- Mars: Back through the Looking Glass SETI Institute 2011
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On mafic plutonic rocks, they are mostly Mollic and Typic Haploxeralfs and Typic Rhodoxeralfs.
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Some small areas of mafic and ultramafic rocks also occur, producing more basic soils.
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This subsection contains mainly Mesozoic granitic and mafic plutonic rocks, Jura-Triassic volcanic rocks, Pre-Cretaceous metamorphic rocks, and Eocene and Oligocene marine and nonmarine and Miocene marine sedimentary rocks.
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Best Sites for Diving and Snorkelling [UK Times] · Snorkeling coverage [Jaunted] [Photo: mafic]
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The oceanic crust, which contains more mafic minerals is thinner and denser than the continental crust which contains minerals richer in silicon and aluminum.
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