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Well attestedNamed from the place

tonalite

noun · first attested 1864

An Alpine pass gave its name to one of the commonest rock types in the continental crust.

A quartz diorite with plagioclase far exceeding alkali feldspar, and biotite and hornblende in roughly equal amounts.

Tonale Pass·Italy

46.2581°N 10.5808°E · Q944457

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Relationship
Named from the place
Confidence
Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
Attested
1864
Part of speech
noun

Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.

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    Tonale Pass

  2. In English

    tonalite

The entry

Gerhard vom Rath applied the name tonalite in 1864 to coarse plutonic rock from the Adamello massif beside the Tonale Pass, on the border of Lombardy and Trentino. The Adamello pluton is one of the best studied intrusions in the Alps. Tonalite and its relatives make up much of the deep crust beneath volcanic arcs.

Italy

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