Volcanic rocks of the Kushtagi–Hungund greenstone belt from the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) show extreme diversity due to the presence of high-Mg, high Fe-, high Mg–Fe basalts, high Mg-dacites and andesites (boninitic affinities), and sodic–plagioclase–quartz rich felsic rocks (adakites with Na 2 O (∼4–6wt.%). The adakites (Drummond and Defant, 1990; Martin, 1999) and high-Mg-dacites–andesites are being reported for the first time from greenstone belts of the Dharwar craton. Trace elements in these different types of volcanic rocks have distinct characteristics. For example, the basalts have (1) Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ∼16 (PM value of 17), (2) (La/Yb) N ∼1–3, (3) low order negative anomalies of Nb/Nb*, Zr/Zr*, Hf/Hf* and Ti/Ti*, (4) Zr/Nb ∼4–10 and (5) Ce/Nb ∼3–4. Two samples of andesites having Mg-enrichment and Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratios of 31–35 are interpreted to have boninitic affinities. Other dacites and andesites are characterized by (1) high-Mg (8–10wt.%), (2) high Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 =22–27, (3) Zr/Nb=8–14, (4) (La/Yb) N ∼2–7, (5) negative Nb/Nb*, Zr/Zr*, Hf/Hf* and Ti/Ti* anomalies and (6) Sc/Lu=67–172. The adakites are characterized by (1) a narrow range of SiO 2 (67–70wt.%), (2) enriched Na 2 O (4–6wt.%) with very high Na 2 O/K 2 O (2.5–7.7), (3) Low Mg# (0.38–0.48), (4) high (La/Yb) N (13–31) with fractionated patterns, no Eu anomaly and (Gd/Yb) N =2–4, (5) very high Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 (50–80) and (6) enriched Ni, Cr and Co (total 50ppm). These adakites resemble 3.0Ga tonalite–trondhjemite gneisses of the Dharwar craton, which are interpreted as products of partial melting of the basaltic slab. The available data suggests that partial melting of the different mantle and slab sources generated this collage of compositionally different rocks within an island arc setting.