Mantle xenolith
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
The Museum is an early voting site (enter at 77th Street).
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
AMNH/D. Finnin
from San Carlos, Arizona
Erupting basaltic lavas may carry fragments of peridotite from the mantle to the surface—most commonly the rocks lherzolite and pyroxenite.
Can you find the minerals in the lherzolite by their colors?
Olivine is the pale green mineral, diopside is bottle-green and enstatite is brown-black.
Can you find the pyroxenite?
It is mostly composed of the brown-black mineral enstatite.
AMNH collection