Mantle xenolith main content.

Mantle xenolith

Part of Hall of Planet Earth.

Mantle xenolith in the Hall of Planet Earth AMNH/D. Finnin

Exhibition Text

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

For Educators

Topic: Earth Science

Subtopic: Earth Structure

Keywords: Lherzolite, Pyroxenite, Geology, Basalt, Minerals, Earth (Planet)--Mantle

Audience: General