ANDESITE LAVA - Buttermere, Cumbria
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450 million years old
450 million years old
Gatesgarth, Buttermere, Cumbria
The dramatic scenery at the heart of the Lake District is the result of cataclysmic volcanic eruptions in the late Ordovician period. The peaks here are entirely composed of lavas and other rocks that are the products of these eruptions and known as the Borrowdale Volcanic Group.
This example is a lava called andesite, named after the Andes mountains. Because the lavas cooled rapidly at the surface, they are composed of tiny crystals, but occasionally they also contain large crystals which began forming within the magma as it was cooling at depth.
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Size: 10 x 9 x 3 centimetres
Weight: 333 grams