- Arcuate (rarely circular) dike with steep dip.
Source: Leet, L. Don. 1982.
Physical Geology, 6th Edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
- A subcircular to circular dike with steep dip. Ring dikes may be many
kilometers long, and hundreds or thousands of meters thick. Their radius
is generally from 1 to 20 km. Although some ring dikes may form a nearly
complete circle, more commonly they encompass 1/4 to 3/4 of a circle or
ellipse. They are commonly associated with alkalic igneous complexes and
carbonatites, so are probably related to deep shock effects or to cauldron
subsidence. Ring dikes are commonly associated with cone sheets to form a
ring complex. Syn: ring-fracture intrusion
Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms