Intrusive rock Intrusive rock Intrusive rock (also called plutonic rock) is formed when magma crystallizes and solidifies underground to form "intrusions", for example plutons, batholiths, dikes, sills, laccoliths, and volcanic necks. Intrusive rock forms within Earth's crust from the crystallization of magma. Many mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada in California, are formed mostly from large granite (or related rock) intrusions; see Sierra Nevada batholith. Intrusions are one of the two ways igneous rock can form; the other is extrusive rock, that is, a volcanic eruption or similar event. Technically speaking, an intrusion is any formation of intrusive igneous rock; rock
Pressure ridge (lava) Pressure ridge (lava) A pressure ridge or a tumulus (plural: tumuli), and rarely referred to as a schollendome, is sometimes created in an active lava flow. Formation occurs when the outer edges and surfaces of the lava flow begin to harden. If the advancing lava underneath becomes restricted it may push up on the hardened crust, tilting it outward. Inflation also takes place and is a process where the plastic layer of lava underneath expands as it cools and small crystals form. The end result is a raised mound of hardened lava rock, usually a relatively narrow but long ridge.