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The Nature and Origin of Granite

  • Book
  • © 1997

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Authors:
  1. Wallace Spencer Pitcher

    1. University of Liverpool, UK

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The historical perspective: an ever changing emphasis

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 1-18

  3. The categories of granitic rocks: the search for a genetic typology

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 19-31

  4. Granite as a chemical system: the experimental impact

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 32-47

  5. The physical nature of granitic magmas: a case of missing information

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 48-67

  6. The evolution of the granitic texture: a continuum of crystal growth

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 68-91

  7. Differentiation in granitic magmas: zoning as an example of multifactorial processes at work

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 92-114

  8. The volcano-plutonic interface: not Read’s hiatus

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 115-124

  9. The evidence for restite: unmixing as an alternative hypothesis

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 125-143

  10. The mingling and mixing of granite with basalt: a third term in a multiple hypothesis

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 144-167

  11. Appinites, diatremes and granodiorites: the interaction of ‘wet’ basalt with granite

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 168-182

  12. Controls of upwelling and emplacement: the response of the envelope: balloons, pistons and reality

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 183-214

  13. On the rates of emplacement, crystallization and cooling

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 215-225

  14. Plagiogranite and ferrogranophyre: extreme differentiation in contrasted situations

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 226-230

  15. Cordilleran-type batholiths: magmatism and crust formation at a plate edge

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 231-257

  16. Intraplate, rift-related magmatism: mainly the A-type, alkali feldspar granites

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 258-279

  17. Migmatites: are they a source of granitic plutons?

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 280-298

  18. The waning stages: the role of volatiles in the genesis of pegmatites and metal ores

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 299-315

  19. The sources of granitic magmas in their various global tectonic niches

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 316-339

  20. A kind of conclusion: a search for order among multifactorial processes and multifarious interactions

    • Wallace Spencer Pitcher
    Pages 340-346
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Keywords

About this book

The origin of granite has for long fascinated geologists though serious debate on the topic may be said to date from a famous meeting of the Geological Society of France in 1847. My own introduction to the subject began exactly one hundred years later when, in an interview with Profes­ sor H. H. Read, I entered his study as an amateur fossil collector and left it as a committed granite petrologist - after just ten minutes! I can hardly aspire to convert my reader in so dramatic a way, yet this book is an attempt, however inadequate, to pass on the enthusiasm that I inherited, and which has been reinforced by innumerable discussions on the outcrop with granitologists of many nationalities and of many shades of opinion. Since the 1960s, interest in granites has been greatly stimulated by the thesis that granites image their source rocks in the inaccessible deep crust, and that their diversity is the result of varying global tectonic context. So great a body of new data and new ideas has accumulated that my attempt to review the whole field of granite studies must carry with it a possible charge of arrogance, especially as I have adopted the teaching device of presenting the material from a personal point of view with its thinly disguised prejudices.

Reviews

about the first edition:
`Without doubt, Wallace Pitcher is currently the granite specialist ... an essential book for deep-zone geologists, whether granitologists or not.'
Geotechnique
`... this excellent and very readable book by an acknowledged master of the craft. The book should be read by anybody interested in granites. It is notable for the breadth of its approach and valuable for presenting the summarized work of a geologist who has made a notable contribution over a lifetime of work.'
Journal of Petrology
`This book is a must for all those engaged in the study of granites, and igneous rocks in general, from undergraduates to professors. It is also an essential library addition. In summary, crucial reading for anyone interested in the origin of granite.'
Geological Magazine

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Liverpool, UK

    Wallace Spencer Pitcher

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Nature and Origin of Granite

  • Authors: Wallace Spencer Pitcher

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5832-9

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1997

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-412-75860-7Published: 31 August 1997

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-94-010-6464-4Published: 09 October 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-011-5832-9Published: 06 December 2012

  • Edition Number: 2

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 387

  • Topics: Mineralogy, Structural Geology

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