Batholiteja

Batholiteja is not a widely recognized term in English-language geology. It may appear in some languages as a cognate or plural form of batholith, or as a proper name in fictional or regional literature. In this article it is treated as related to the standard concept of a batholith.

A batholith is a very large intrusive igneous rock body formed when magma crystallizes deep in the crust. Batholiteja, when used as a reference to this concept, therefore denotes a plutonic mass typically exceeding about 100 square kilometers in surface exposure, though actual batholiths vary widely in size. They are composed mainly of granitic to dioritic rocks and are formed by the emplacement and coalescence of numerous magma chambers over millions of years. Erosion and uplift later expose the intrusion at the surface.

Characteristics include an irregular, sprawling shape, multiple intrusive units, and contact zones with surrounding rock that may show metamorphic alteration. The mineralogical makeup is dominated by light-colored silicates such as feldspar and quartz, with substantial biotite or hornblende in many examples. Isotopic ages for batholith suites range from Precambrian to Mesozoic, reflecting long-lived tectonic activity in continental crust.

Examples and distribution: Well-documented batholiths occur in several regions worldwide, including the Sierra Nevada Batholith of California and related Coast Range belts along western North America. Similar granitoid belts are described in other continents.

Etymology and usage: The term batholith derives from Greek bathos, meaning deep, and lithos, stone. The form batholiteja is rarely used in English but may appear in other languages to refer to batholiths or to a plural form thereof.

See also: Batholith.