Diorite facts for kids

Diorite is an igneous rock that forms deep inside the Earth. It's made mostly of minerals like plagioclase feldspar, biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene. Diorite is usually grey to dark-grey, but it can also be black or bluish-grey, sometimes with a greenish tint.

This rock is considered "intermediate" because its chemical makeup is between that of darker rocks like gabbro and lighter rocks like granite. You can tell diorite apart from gabbro because the plagioclase in diorite has more sodium and less calcium. Diorite might also have small amounts of quartz, microcline, and olivine. Other tiny minerals like zircon and magnetite are often found in it too.

Diorite has a rough, often speckled look with large grains that you can easily see. Sometimes it has bigger crystals mixed in, which is called a porphyritic texture.

A special type called orbicular diorite looks like it has circles or "eyes" in it. These circles are made of different minerals arranged in layers around a central point.

Diorite often forms near granite or gabbro rock bodies, and they can sometimes blend into each other. Diorite is created when a darker rock partly melts deep underground, usually where one of Earth's plates slides under another (a subduction zone). You often find it in areas with volcanoes or big mountain ranges, like the Andes Mountains, where it forms huge rock bodies called batholiths. The rock that forms from lava on the surface, which is similar to diorite, is called andesite.

Where Can You Find Diorite?

Diorite is not a very common rock. You can find it in places like Leicestershire and Aberdeenshire in the United Kingdom, Guernsey, Sondrio in Italy, Thuringia and Saxony in Germany, Finland, Romania, Northeastern Turkey, central Sweden, the Darrans range of New Zealand, and the Andes Mountains.

A unique orbicular type of diorite found in Corsica is even called corsite.

Images for kids

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  A close-up view of diorite.

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  Orbicular diorite from Corsica, also known as corsite.

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  This diagram helps geologists classify different types of igneous rocks, including diorite.

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  This chart shows the common minerals found in different igneous rocks.

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  Another example of diorite rock.

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  QAPF diagram with dioritoid fields highlighted in yellow and diorite in red

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  Hornblende diorite from the Henry Mountains, Utah, US

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  A jar made from diorite from ancient Egypt (around 3500–3050 BC).

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  A statue of Gudea I, an ancient ruler, carved from diorite (2120 BC).

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  A diorite weight from King Shulgi's time (2094-2047 BC).

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  An Assyrian head of a bearded god made of diorite (Middle Bronze Age).

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  A head of a cow goddess, possibly Hathor, made of diorite (1390-1352 BC).

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  A statue of the god Amun, made of diorite (1336-1327 BC).

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  A block statue from ancient Egypt, carved from diorite (4th century BC).

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  Vases made of diorite with bronze decorations (around 1780).

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  The Palazzo delle Poste in Naples, Italy, built with marble and diorite (1936).

See also

In Spanish: Diorita para niños