Magma
|
|
Magma is molten rock often located inside a magma chamber beneath the surface of the Earth. Magma is a complex high-temperature silicate solution that is ancestral to all igneous rocks. Magma exists between 650 and 1200 degrees C. Magma is under high pressure and sometimes emerges through volcanic vents in the form of flowing lava. These products of a volcanic eruption usually contain liquids, crystals and dissolved gases which have never before reached the planet's surface. Magma collects in many separate magma chambers within the Earth's crust, and will have slightly different compositions in different places. Igneous rocks are derived from magma through solidification and related processes or through eruption of the magma at the surface.
