page_title: Dyke (geology)
hierarchical_section_title: Dyke (geology)
caption_attribution_description: Light-colored intersecting dikes (geology) over a backdrop of black cliff
context_page_description: A dyke in geology is a type of later vertical rock between older layers of rock. Technically, it is any geologic body which cuts across:
  a) flat wall rock structures, such as bedding.
  b) massive rock formations, usually igneous in origin.
  Dikes can therefore be either pushed in between or laid down in origin.
  The most usual thing that happens is that later volcanic activity pushes lava through strata which were laid down earlier in a sedimentary fashion, or through earlier igneous rocks. On the Isle of Arran, for example, there are hundreds of igneous dykes giving rise to the term dyke swarm.
  Alternatively, sedimentary rocks can be laid down in vertical gaps between strata. Or, after underwater earthquakes, gaps caused by the earthquake can be filled in with breccia, that is, broken rocks.
  Dykes are a common, almost universal, feature of the older Palaeozoic rocks.
  Another type of intrusion is the sill, where later rock is formed between older layers, not through them.
context_section_description: A dyke (or dike) in geology is a type of later vertical rock between older layers of rock. Technically, it is any geologic body which cuts across:
  a) flat wall rock structures, such as bedding.
  b) massive rock formations, usually igneous in origin.
  Dikes can therefore be either pushed in between (intrusive) or laid down (sedimentary) in origin.
  The most usual thing that happens is that later volcanic activity pushes lava through strata which were laid down earlier in a sedimentary fashion, or through earlier igneous rocks. On the Isle of Arran, for example, there are hundreds of igneous dykes giving rise to the term dyke swarm. 
  Alternatively, sedimentary rocks can be laid down in vertical gaps between strata. Or, after underwater earthquakes, gaps caused by the earthquake can be filled in with breccia, that is, broken rocks.
  Dykes are a common, almost universal, feature of the older Palaeozoic rocks.
  Another type of intrusion is the sill, where later rock is formed between older layers, not through them.
caption: Dykes in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado, USA
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