Depth of emplacement
There has been a general tendency to equate variations in the form and internal and external structural relations of igneous intrusions with depth of emplacement. Thus, Buddington (1959) suggested a threefold division of granitic intrusions.
“Plutons of Epizone”—thought to have been emplaced at depths down to 6–9 km; they tend to be structureless and to have discordant relations to the country rocks that show few if any effects of metamorphism.
“Plutons of Mesozone”—thought to have been emplaced at depths of 6–12 km; they are characterized by contact relations that may be in part concordant and in part discordant, by frequently containing well-developed internal structures, and by intruding country rocks that are often strongly deformed near the intrusion and frequently consist of relatively low-grade (epidote amphibolite facies) regionally metamorphosed rocks.
“Plutons of Catazone”—thought to have been emplaced at depths below 12–15 km; they are characterized by...
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© 1989 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Munro, M. (1989). Igneous intrusions— structural behavior . In: Petrology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30845-8_99
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