Peridotite
Photographed by Tony Peterson
Mantle Xenolith

Victoria
AUSTRALIA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Photographed by Tony Peterson
Mantle Xenolith
[Garnet Lherzolite]

Kimberley
SOUTH AFRICA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Subcontinental Deep(?) Mantle
[Garnet Lherzolite]

Alpe Arami

Canton Ticino
SWITZERLAND
Collected
by

Professor Reinoud Vissers
Utrecht University

THE NETHERLANDS

Donated
by

Dr. Fraukje Brouwer 
Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam

THE NETHERLANDS


http://www.falw.vu.nl/petrology
http://www.geo.vu.nl/~fbrouw
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Mantle Xenolith
[In Basalt]

ARIZONA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Subcontinental Deep(?) Mantle
[Garnet Lherzolite]

Alpe Arami

Canton Ticino
SWITZERLAND
Collected and Donated
by

Prof. Max W. Schmidt
Institut fur Mineralogie und Petrographie
ETH-Zurich

SWITZERLAND


http://www.imp.ethz.ch/people/schmidtm
Kimberlite Gallery
A peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic and ultrabasic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium, reflecting the high proportions of magnesium-rich olivine, with appreciable iron. Peridotite is derived from the Earth's mantle, either as solid blocks and fragments, or as crystals accumulated from magmas that formed in the mantle. The compositions of peridotites from these layered igneous complexes vary widely, reflecting the relative proportions of pyroxenes, chromite, plagioclase, and amphibole. Peridotite is the dominant rock of the upper part of the Earth's mantle. The compositions of peridotite nodules found in certain basalts and diamond pipes (kimberlites) are of special interest, because they provide samples of the Earth's Mantle roots of continents brought up from depths from about 30 km or so to depths perhaps as great as 250 km. Some of the nodules preserve isotope ratios of osmium and other elements that record deep-earth processes that occurred over three billion years ago, and so they are of special interest as they provide clues to the composition of the Earth's early mantle and the complexities of the processes that were involved.

Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz
Bushveld Complex

Aapjesboom

Transvaal
SOUTH AFRICA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

[Harzburgite]

Stillwater
MONTANA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

[Kimberlite]

Tompkins County
NEW YORK
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Wolf Creek Pluton

MONTANA
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Garnet Peridotite

Ahein

NORWAY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Garnet Peridotite

Ahein

NORWAY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Garnet Peridotite

Ahein

NORWAY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Garnet Peridotite

Ahein

NORWAY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz


FINLAND
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz


FINLAND
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Aegerine Peridotite

Iron Hill

Fremont County
COLORADO
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Aegerine Peridotite

Iron Hill

Fremont County
COLORADO
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Aegerine Peridotite

Iron Hill

Fremont County
COLORADO
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Garnet [Mantle] Peridotite 

Almklovdalen
Vanylven

Møre og Romsdal
NORWAY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Forsterite-Diopside Peridotite
[Upper Mantle Xenolith in Quaternary Basalt]

Dreis Eifel Volcanic Fields

​Rhineland Palatinate
GERMANY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Forsterite-Diopside Peridotite
[Upper Mantle Xenolith in Quaternary Basalt]

Dreis Eifel Volcanic Fields

​Rhineland Palatinate
GERMANY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Forsterite-Diopside Peridotite
[Upper Mantle Xenolith in Quaternary Basalt]

Dreis Eifel Volcanic Fields

​Rhineland Palatinate
GERMANY
Photographed by Michael P. Klimetz

Forsterite-Diopside Peridotite
[Upper Mantle Xenolith in Quaternary Basalt]

Dreis Eifel Volcanic Fields

​Rhineland Palatinate
GERMANY