Classification and nomenclature
A volcanic breccia is a rock composed predominantly of angular fragments resulting from brecciation or emplacement due to volcanic action: it may, or may not, have a matrix. Four criteria have commonly been used in their classification: (1) cause of brecciation, (2) environment of deposition or emplacement, (3) location (in relation to geologic forms), and (4) rock type. Cause of brecciation has been used in cases where intrusion-breccia formed as the result of intrusion of magma into wall-rock (Fig. 1). Where there has been movement of the brecciated material and the cause of brecciation is more difficult to establish, terms such as intrusive breccia indicate environment of development. Location, as reflected by such terms as vent-breccia and contact-breccia, can be avoided in most instances by using the appropriate term to describe the process of formation, e.g., vent-breccia is normally a pyroclastic breccia. Rock...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Blyth, F. G. H., 1940, The nomenclature of pyroclastic deposits, Bull. Volcanol. 6, 145–156.
Bowes, D. R. and A. E. Wright, 1961, An explosion-breccia complex at Back Settlement, near Kentallen, Argyll, Trans. Edinburgh Geol. Soc. 18, 293–314.
Bowes, D. R. and A. E. Wright, 1967, The explosion-breccia pipes near Kentallen, Scotland, and their geological setting, Trans. R. Soc. Edinburgh 67, 109–142.
Hamidullah, S. and D. R. Bowes, 1988, Petrogenesis of the appinite suite, Appin district, western Scotland, Acta Univ. Carolinae Geol. 1987(4), 295–396.
Harker, A., 1908, The geology of the small isles of Inverness-shire, Mem. Geol. Surv. Scotland.
Parsons, W. H., 1969, Criteria for the recognition of volcanic breccias: a review, Mem. Geol. Soc. Am. 115, 263–304.
Pitcher, W. S. and H. H. Read, 1952, An appinitic intrusion-breccia at Kilkenny, Maas, Co. Donegal, Geol. Mag. 89, 328–336.
Reynolds, D. L., 1954, Fluidization as a geological process, and its bearing on the problem of intrusive granites, Am. J. Sci. 252, 577–613.
Tyrrell, G. W., 1928, The geology of Arran, Mem. Geol. Surv. Scotland.
Wentworth, C. K. and H. Williams, 1932, The classification and terminology of the pyroclastic rocks, Bull. Nat. Res. Council 89, 19–53.
Wright, A. E. and D. R. Bowes, 1963, Classification of volcanic breccias: a discussion, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am. 74, 79–86.
Wright, A. E. and D. R. Bowes, 1968, Formation of explosion-breccias, Bull. Volcanol. 32, 15–32.
Wright, J. V., A. L. Smith, and S. Self, 1980, A working terminology of pyroclastic deposits, J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 8, 315–336.
Cross-references
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Van Nostrand Reinhold
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bowes, D.R. (1989). Volcanic breccia . In: Petrology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30845-8_254
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30845-8_254
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-442-20623-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30845-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive