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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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| portion of the earth's surface consisting of disintegrated rock and humus |
| process where the surface of the earth is worn away by the action of water, glaciers, winds, waves |
| laccolith or laccolite (ˈlækəlɪθ, ˈlækəˌlaɪt) | |
| —n | |
| See lopolith a dome-shaped body of igneous rock between two layers of older sedimentary rock: formed by the intrusion of magma, forcing the overlying strata into the shape of a dome | |
| [C19: from Greek lakkos cistern + | |
| laccolite or laccolite | |
| —n | |
| [C19: from Greek lakkos cistern + | |
| lacco'lithic or laccolite | |
| —adj | |
| laccolitic or laccolite | |
| —adj | |
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laccolith  (lāk'ə-lĭth') Pronunciation Key
A body of igneous rock intruded between layers of sedimentary rock, resulting in uplift. Laccoliths are usually plano-convex in cross-section, having a flat bottom and a convex top, and are roughly circular in plan. They are usually connected to a dike and are typically up to 8 km (5 mi) in diameter and tens to hundreds of meters thick. See illustration at batholith. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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laccolith
in geology, any of a type of igneous intrusion that has split apart two strata, resulting in a domelike structure; the floor of the structure is usually horizontal. A laccolith is often smaller than a stock, which is another type of igneous intrusion, and usually is less than 16 km (10 miles) in diameter; the thickness of laccoliths ranges from hundreds of metres to a few thousand metres. They can be contrasted with sills, which are sheetlike intrusions oriented parallel to the bedding of the enclosing rock: a laccolith's ratio of diameter to thickness should be less than 10; a larger ratio would make the body a sill. Acidic rocks are more common than basic rocks in laccoliths. Although the lower portions of laccoliths are seldom visible, they usually are interpreted as having a relatively small feeder from a magma source below. A well-known example of a laccolith is found in the Henry Mountains, Utah.
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