Archean felsic volcanic rocks lenticular fiamme. When hot pumice deposits on a cool surface, it is rapidly cooled, recrystallised and welded into quartz with flame-like ending tips. The eutaxiitc texture represents a hot vapour-phase emplacement of the fragmented volcanic materials on the Earth's surface. Flow bands are present in massive, uniform felsic lava flow units. When the viscous lava flow encounters a surface, friction drags the mobile lava and forms internal banding. Structureless hyaloclastite is commonly found in Archean felsic volcanic rocks. In submarine environments, water quenches and cools lava rapidly during volcanic eruption. The flow is fragmented and form glassy volcanic breccia. The
Archean felsic volcanic rocks are distributed only in the preserved Archean greenstone belts, where deformed sequences of volcanic-sedimentary rocks are common. Felsic volcanic rocks are rare in the early Earth and only contribute to less 20% of rocks in the Archean greenstone belts worldwide. Nonetheless, mafic volcanic rocks (such as basalt and komatiite, silicate content <52%) occupy about 50% in the greenstone belts. Thus, felsic volcanic rocks are rare members in the Archean terranes. Archean felsic volcanic activities commonly occur in submarine environments. The composition of Archean felsic volcanic rocks are equivalent to a spectrum between dacite and rhyolite. They can be distinguished by