Plutonism

Plutonism (or Vulcanism) is the theory that the rocks forming the Earth were formed in fire by volcanic activity.

It was named after Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld, or alternatively after Vulcan, the ancient Roman god of fire and volcanoes. The theory was first proposed by Abbé Anton Moro who had studied volcanic islands. It was subsequently developed by James Hutton as part of his Theory of the Earth published in 1788.

The Plutonists strongly disputed the Neptunist view that rocks had been formed by processes that no longer operated, instead supporting Hutton's uniformitarianism.

Plutonism Media

Image depicts the difference in location and result of extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks
Image depicts Anorthosite at the base of a structure; a type of plutonic rock
Image depicts the front page of John Playfair's Illustrations of Huttonian Theory
Image depicts rock face used by Hutton to explain his theory of plutonism
Medaglione di Lazzaro Moro, opera di Pietro Bearzi precedente al 1847. Il busto fa parte del Panteon Veneto, conservato presso Palazzo Loredan di Campo Santo Stefano a Venezia.
Sir Henry Raeburn - James Hutton, 1726 - 1797. Geologist - Google Art Project
John Playfair by Sir Henry Raeburn

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