📖 what
What is an ophiolite?
Quick Answer
An ophiolite is a slice of oceanic crust and upper mantle that has been pushed onto a continent and preserved on land.
The Full Story
Ophiolites are important because they let geologists study deep ocean-floor rocks without drilling through the seabed. A classic ophiolite sequence can include deep-sea sediments, pillow basalts, sheeted dikes, gabbros, and ultramafic mantle rocks like peridotite. Many well-known examples formed during plate collision, when pieces of oceanic lithosphere were scraped off and thrust onto land. One famous example is the Oman ophiolite, one of the largest and best-studied in the world.
Key Facts
1.Ophiolites are fragments of oceanic lithosphere
2.The Oman ophiolite is among the best known
3.They often include pillow basalts and peridotite
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"Ancient seafloor rocks stranded on mountains"
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