NPS Photo
Intrusive or plutonic igneous rocks are formed from magma that has slowly cooled deep beneath the Earth’s surface. The mass of cooling magma is called a pluton, and the rock around is known as country rock. Slow cooling over thousands to millions of years allows large visible crystals to form. Common igneous rock types include granite, gabbro, and diorite. Large plutons can form along convergent tectonic plate boundaries.
Plutonic rocks are hard and erode slowly, so in many places they have become exposed at the surface after the rocks above erode away over millions of years. In the U.S. massive granite landforms can be found in over 30 U.S. states, including many that are iconic National Park features. El Capitan in Yosemite National Park is the largest granite monolith in the world.
