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Batholith identification and geology

A large body of intrusive igneous rock plutonic rock with an exposed surface area exceeding 100 km², formed by the coalescence of multiple smaller plutons emplaced over millions of years. Batholiths are typically granitic to granodioritic in composition and are exposed at the surface only after extensive erosion removes the overlying rock. They form the structural cores of many mountain belts. Field: petrology. Example: The Coast Range Batholith of British Columbia extends over 1,800 km along the western coast and is composed of hundreds of individual plutons emplaced during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.. Related terms: Pluton, Stock, Granite, Intrusion.

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  • Pluton
  • Granite

Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:41.970235+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Batholith mean in geology?
A large body of intrusive igneous rock plutonic rock with an exposed surface area exceeding 100 km², formed by the coalescence of multiple smaller plutons emplaced over millions of years. Batholiths are typically granitic to granodioritic in composition and are exposed at the surface only after extensive erosion removes the overlying rock. They form the structural cores of many mountain belts.
What is an example of Batholith?
The Coast Range Batholith of British Columbia extends over 1,800 km along the western coast and is composed of hundreds of individual plutons emplaced during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
Which earth-science field uses the term Batholith?
Batholith is used in petrology.
Which terms are related to Batholith?
Related terms in this reference are Pluton, Stock, Granite, Intrusion.

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