basanite

Basanite () is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. It is composed mostly of feldspathoids, pyroxenes, olivine, and calcic plagioclase and forms from magma low in silica and enriched in alkali metal oxides that solidifies rapidly close to the Earth's surface.

==Description== thumb|QAPF diagram showing the basanite/tephrite field in yellow thumb|TAS diagram with basanite/tephrite field highlighted Basanite is an aphanitic (fine-grained) igneous rock that is low in silica and enriched in alkali metals. Of its total content of quartz, feldspar, and feldspathoid (QAPF), between 10% and 60% by volume is feldspathoid and over 90% of the feldspar is plagioclase. Quartz is never present. This places basanite in the basanite/tephrite field of the QAPF diagram. Basanite is further distinguished from tephrite by having a normative olivine content greater than 10%. While the IUGS recommends classification by mineral content whenever possible, volcanic rock can be glassy or so fine-grained that this is impractical, and then the rock is classified chemically using the TAS classification. Basanite then falls into the U1 (basanite-tephrite) field of the TAS diagram. Basanite is again distinguished from tephrite by its normative olivine content and from nephelinite by a normative albite content of over 5% and a normative nepheline content under 20%.