Bailey Mausoleum

This mausoleum is made of granite, but it has a unique feature that makes it different from the other granite markers in Parsons. To see what I mean, look at the west-facing side of the mausoleum and look for the large dark mass as shown above. This large, dark mass is called a xenolith (pronounced “zee-no-lith”). There are several dark xenoliths of different sizes in this slab of granite, but this is the largest. (Image 2)

Xenoliths form when magma rises up from the Earth’s interior and pushes its way into the rocks in the Earth’s crust. Sometimes, pieces of the “country rock” fall into the magma. The pieces of rock don’t necessarily melt, but instead, they get incorporated into the newly forming igneous rock. In this case, there are xenoliths of diorite within the granite. (Image 3)