Modal Variation and the Form of the Beinn an Dubhaich Granite, Skye

Abstract
Regional variations in modal analyses of the Chandos Lake pluton (Ontario) and the Beinn an Dubhaich granite are compared. Trend surface analysis maps for the latter area show a southwest “grain” parallel to the axis about which King (1960) suggested the sheet of granite is folded. The modal data thus appear to confirm King's hypothesis, and to indicate a more mafic base and increase in quartz content upwards through the sheet. The value to petrogenesis of quantitative variation studies of rock masses is briefly discussed.