Granodiorite and Xenolith

**Petrological characteristics:** Granodiorite consists of plagioclase, feldspar, quartz, muscovite (common mica), biotite and amphibole (hornblende) as its primary rock-forming minerals, with accessory minerals such as magnetite, titanite and spinel. Unlike granite, granodiorite appears darker as a result of a higher content of plagioclase and a greater proportion of dark minerals, including biotite and hornblende. **Genesis:** Granodiorite is a white, light gray, or black plutonic igneous rock, formed by the intrusion of silica-rich magma, which cools slowly in large plutons, batholiths, massifs or stocks below Earth's surface. It represents the transition between granite and quartz diorite. Granodiorite exhibits a granular, phaneritic, and occasionally porphyritic texture with a coarse-grained, holocrystalline structure. It is commonly used as crushed stone for road construction, paving, and ornamental stone. The extrusive igneous equivalent of granodiorite is known as rhyodacite. The term xenolith refers to fragments of rock that become embedded in igneous rock during magma emplacement and eruption. Xenoliths provide valuable insights into the composition of the otherwise inaccessible mantle.