Granite - Shap
UK Virtual Microscope
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The Shap granite, a distinctive coarse-grained granite with large pink orthoclase feldspar, was intruded late in the Caledonian orogeny around 394 million years ago. The granite had a complex evolution involving multi-stage addition of basaltic magma to the magma chamber and assimilation of country rock. Much of the magmatic history is recorded in the compositional variations of the feldspar megacrysts. This rock has been widely used as a decorative building stone and our sample was collected from the Shap granite quarry some years ago before the quarry became a geological conservation area where collecting is no longer allowed.
The mineralogy of this granite is relatively simple - biotite, quartz and two feldspars (plagioclase and K-feldspar). Fluorapatite, ilmenite and titanite are also present in minor amounts. The large pink Carlsbad-twinned K-feldspar megacrysts dominate the thin section.
Shap Pink quarry, Shap Fell, Cumbria
Precision:
Geological map
The United Kingdom Virtual Microscope (UKVM) collection consists of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks from around the UK.
It is intended as a teaching resource, helping to tell the story of the common rock types and how they form, and reflecting the history of the UK at the margins of the continent of Europe. The collection is a series of teaching sets, for example igneous rocks from the North Atlantic Igneous Province and SW England; high-temperature metamorphic rocks from Scotland and low-temperature metamorphic rocks from Wales; and sedimentary rocks, including English limestones and sandstones.
Sample details
Collection: UK Virtual Microscope
Rock-forming mineral
biotite
Accessory minerals
titanite
Category guide
Refers to any word or phrase that appears in the individual rock names. Names are generally descriptive; they allow users to search for broad terms like 'granite' as well as more specific names such as 'breccia'. However, the adjacent descriptions of the specimens captures a wider range of general words and phrases and is a more powerful search tool.
Refers to any word or phrase that appears anywhere in the descriptions of the specimens
Minerals that occur in very low abundance in a rock. They are usually not visible with the naked eye and contribute perhapssver, they often dominate the rare elements such as platinum group metals.
Rock-forming minerals
Minerals that make up the bulk of all rock samples and are also the ones used in rock classi?cation.
Selecting one or more period, for example 'Jurassic'.
A term used to group together related samples that are not already gathered into a single Collection. For instance, there is a 'SW England granites' theme that includes such rock types as granite, hydrothermal breccia, skarn and vein samples.
A general term used to label a rock sample. It is a useful way of grouping similar samples throughout a collection. Category names are often, but not exclusively, common rock names (e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite, gabbro, greisen, skarn, gneiss, amphibolite, limestone, sandstone).
The owner of the sample that appears in the collection. For example, NASA owns all the samples that appear in the Moon Rocks collection
We would like to thank the following for the use of this sample:
Epigranite - Isle of Skye
Magnetite skarn - Haytor
Granite - Lundy
Triassic Meteorite Impact Deposit
Limestone - Sussex Marble 2