kimberlite pipe

noun

A natural volcanic pipe composed of kimberlite, by which geological matter from deep within the Earth can be projected violently to the surface.

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Meanings

nounkimberlite pipe (plural kimberlite pipes)

plural kimberlite pipes

  1. geographyA natural volcanic pipe composed of kimberlite, by which geological matter from deep within the Earth can be projected violently to the surface.

    Because they come up from such depths – up to 200 kilometres down – kimberlite pipes bring up all kinds of things not normally found on or near the surface: a rock called peridotite, crystals of olivine and – just occasionally, in about one pipe in a hundred – diamonds.

    2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 190
Cite this entry
APA

kimberlite pipe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kimberlite%20pipe

MLA

“kimberlite pipe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kimberlite%20pipe. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kimberlite pipe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kimberlite%20pipe.

Source: kimberlite pipe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.