A xenolith is a rock fragment embedded in, and distinct in texture and composition from, a surrounding mass of igneous rock. Xenoliths form when rising magma forces its way through channels and cracks, tearing off fragments of their walls and...

A xenolith (Greek: 'foreign rock') is a rock fragment which becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and hardening. In geology, the term xenolith is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in igneous rock during magma...