How Does a Lopolith Form?

Lopoliths are saucer shaped concordant emplacements that lie parallel to the strata of intruded country rock. ... Lopoliths formed by a similar mechanism to laccoliths, but they are composed of dense, mafic magma that allows depression by the overlying strata on cooling. Many lopoliths contain layered gabbroic rocks.

What is a lopolith and how is it formed?

lopolith in British English

(ˈlɒpəlɪθ ) noun. a saucer- or lens-shaped body of intrusive igneous rock, formed by the penetration of magma between the beds or layers of existing rock and subsequent subsidence beneath the intrusion. Compare laccolith. Collins English Dictionary.

Where is lopolith found?

…and most famous is the Bushveld Complex in South Africa, which is 9 km (5.6 miles) thick and covers an area of 66,000 square km (about 25,500 square miles). It was intruded nearly 2.1 billion years ago and is the largest repository of magmatic ore deposits in the world.