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Dike
Dikes are tabular or sheet-like bodies of
magma that cut through
and across the layering of adjacent rocks and then solidify. They
form when magma rises into a fracture or creates a new crack by
forcing its way through rock. Hundreds of dikes can invade the cone
and inner core of a volcano, often along zones of structural
weakness.
Left: An exposed dike, approximately five feet wide, at the
caldera of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii.
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