VOLCANIC BRECCIA

These igneous rocks are formed either by the interaction

of lava and scoria (p.276) or by the mixing of cooled
lava and flowing lava. Volcanic breccia takes the form of
inch-scale angular clasts, which may be rocks broken
off the side of a magma conduit or rocks picked up off the
surface during a pyroclastic or lava flow. In certain types
of lavas, especially dacite (p.274) and rhyolite (p.278)
lavas, thick and nearly solidified lava is broken into
blocks and then reincorporated into the flow of liquid
lava. Flowing lavas can also pick up surface rocks and
incorporate them into a solidified breccia. In explosive
volcanoes, solidified lava may be reshattered numerous
times to be reconstituted as breccias.
AGGLOMERATE :
An agglomerate is a pyroclastic rock in which coarse,
rounded clasts up to several inches long are set in a matrix
of lava or ash. The clasts are fragments that may be derived
from lava, pyroclastic rock, or country rock . The rounding
of the clasts may have occurred either in the magma
during eruption or by later sedimentary reworking. The
rounded nature of these clasts is the key to designating the
rock as an agglomerate rather than as a volcanic breccia .
In a volcanic breccia, most of the clasts are angular.
VOLCANIC BOMB :
Formed by the cooling of a mass of lava while it flies
through the air after eruption, a volcanic bomb is a
pyroclastic rock. To be called a bomb, a specimen
must be larger than 21 ⁄2 in diameter; smaller
specimens are known as lapilli. Specimens up to 20
ft in diameter are known. Volcanic bombs are
usually brown or red, weathering to a yellow-brown
color. Specimens can become rounded as they fly
through the air, although they may also be twisted or
pointed. They may have a cracked, fine-grained, or
glassy surface.
 METAMORPHIC ROCKS:
Metamorphism occurs when an existing rock is subjected to pressures
or temperatures very different from those under which it formed. This
causes its atoms and molecules to rearrange themselves into new
minerals in the solid state, without melting.

DYNAMIC METAMORPHISM : REGIONAL METAMORPHISM:

There are three different ways in which metamorphic rocks The second type of metamorphism is the formation of regional
are formed. The first of these is dynamic metamorphism. metamorphic rocks. These are associated with mountain building
This occurs as a result of large-scale movements in Earth’s through the collision of tectonic plates. This process increases
crust, especially along fault planes and at continental temperature and pressure over an area of thousands of square miles,
margins where tectonic plates collide. producing widespread metamorphism. Important regional vertical,
slaty cleavage forms at right angles to forces of compression tectonic
compression folded strata section of rock deep in Earth’s crust
metamorphic rocks include slates, schists, and gneisses.
CHANGING CHARACTERISTICS:
Metamorphism is said to be low grade if it
occurs at relatively low temperature and
pressure and high grade at the intense end of
the temperature and pressure range.

CONTACT METAMORPHISM:
The third type of metamorphism is contact metamorphism
or thermal metamorphism. This type occurs mainly as a
result of increases in temperature, not in pressure. It is
common in rocks near an igneous intrusion. Heat from the
intrusion alters rocks to produce an “aureole” of
metamorphic rock.
GNEISS :
Distinct bands of minerals of different colors and grain
sizes characterize this metamorphic rock. In most
gneisses, these bands are folded, although the folds may
be too large to see in hand specimens. Gneiss is a medium-
to coarse-grained rock. Unlike schist (pp.291–92), its
foliation is well developed, but it has little or no tendency
to split along planes. Most gneisses contain quartz (p.168)
and feldspar (pp.173–81), but neither mineral is necessary
for a rock to be called gneiss. Larger crystals of
metamorphic minerals, such as garnet, can also be
present.
MYLONITE:

The term mylonite refers to fine-grained rocks with streaks

or rodlike structures produced by the ductile deformation,
or stretching, of mineral grains. This classification is based
only on the texture of the rock, and specimens can have
different mineral compositions. Mylonite with a large
percentage of phyllosilicate minerals, such as chlorite or
mica, is known as phyllonite. When mylonite is hard,
dark, and so fine that it has the appearance of streaky
flint, it is known as ultramylonite. Although generally fine
grained, a few mylonites are coarse grained and often
sugary in appearance. These are referred to as
blastomylonites.
MIGMATITE:
The term migmatite means “mixed rock” and refers to
rocks that consist of gneiss (p.288) or schist (pp.291–
92) interlayered, streaked, or veined with granite
(pp.258–59). The granitic parts consist of granular
patches of quartz (p.168) and feldspar (pp.173–81), and
the gneissic parts consist of quartz, feldspar, and dark-
colored minerals. The granite streaks are a result of the
partial melting of the parent rock at temperatures
below the melting point of the schist or gneiss. The
layering may be tightly folded as a result of softening
during heating. Migmatites occur at the borderline
between igneous and metamorphic rocks.
SCHIST:
This metamorphic rock has a flaky and foliated texture. Specimens have wrinkled, wavy, or
irregular sheets as a result of the parallel orientation of the component minerals. Schist shows
distinct layering of light- and dark-colored minerals. The mineral assemblage varies, but mica
is usually present. Most schists are composed of platy minerals, such as chlorite, graphite , talc
, muscovite , and biotite .

Indian schist
carving
Although its texture and
composition are often
uneven, schist is
sometimes used as a
carving material.
 Garnet-chlorite schist

GARNET SCHIST :

Like other schists, garnet schist is a metamorphic

rock with a characteristic texture: wrinkled,
irregular, or wavy as a result of the parallel
orientation of its component minerals, such as
chlorite, graphite , talc , muscovite , and biotite . In
garnet schist, garnet occurs as porphyroblasts, Garnet-muscovite-chlorite schist
which are large crystals set in a metamorphic matrix
with other smaller crystals. The resulting texture is
called porphyroblastic. The equivalent texture in
igneous rocks is called porphyritic.
SLATE:
Chiastolite
A fine-grained metamorphic rock, slate occurs in a number slate
of colors that depend on the minerals in the original
sedimentary rock and the oxidation conditions under
which that rock formed. Slate has a characteristic cleavage
that allows it to be split into relatively thin, flat sheets. Spotted
This is a result of microscopic mica crystals that have slate
grown oriented in the same plane. True slates split along
the foliation planes formed during metamorphism, rather
than along the original sedimentary layers. Slate is
common in regionally metamorphosed terrains. It forms Pyrite slate
when shale , mudstone, or volcanic rocks rich in silica are
buried as well as subjected to low pressures and
temperatures (up to 400°F/200°C).
PHYLLITE:

Like slate , phyllite is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that

Coarse foliation
is usually gray or dark green in color. It has a shinier sheen
than slate because of its larger mica crystals. The rock has a
tendency to split in the same manner as slate because of a
parallel alignment of mica minerals. However, the split
surfaces are more irregular than in slate, and phyllite splits Alternating
into thick slabs rather than thin sheets. Many phyllite minerals
specimens have a scattering of large crystals called
porphyroblasts, which grow during metamorphism. The rock
is often deformed into folds a couple of inches wide and is Garnet
veined with quartz . Biotite, cordierite , tourmaline , porphyroblasts
andalusite , and staurolite are commonly found in phyllite.
QUARTZITE:

This quartz-rich metamorphic rock is usually white to gray

when pure. Specimens can be various shades of pink, red,
yellow, and orange when mineral impurities are present.
Quartzite is very hard and brittle and shows conchoidal
fracture. It usually contains at least 90 percent quartz
Metamorphic quartzite, or metaquartzite, forms when
sandstone is buried, heated, and squeezed into a solid
quartz rock. It is found with other regional metamorphic
rocks formed during the shifting of Earth’s tectonic plates.
Quartzite can also refer to sedimentary sandstone
converted to a much denser form through the precipitation
of silica cement in pore spaces.
AMPHIBOLITE:

As the name suggests, amphibolites are

dark-colored, coarse-grained rocks that are
dominated by amphiboles: the black or
dark green hornblende and the green
tremolite or actinolite . Specimens may
contain grains of calcite , feldspar , and
pyroxene and large crystals of minerals
such as garnet. Except for garnet, the
mineral grains in amphibolite are usually
aligned. The rock can also show banding.
GRANULITE:

This metamorphic rock is named for its even-grained,

granular texture. Specimens are typically tough and
massive. Granulite has a high concentration of pyroxene,
with diopside or hypersthene, garnet, calcium plagioclase,
and quartz or olivine. It has nearly the same minerals as
gneiss but is finergrained and less perfectly foliated, and
has more garnet. Formed at high pressures and
temperatures (1,065°F/ 575°C or above) deep in Earth’s
crust, granulites are characteristic of the highest grade of
metamorphism. Rocks formed under these conditions
belong to a category of metamorphic rocks known as the
granulite facies.
SERPENTINITE:

An attractive rock, serpentinite is composed of serpentine

and other serpentine-group minerals. It commonly has
flowing bands of various colors, especially green and yellow.
Serpentine minerals form by a metamorphic process called
serpentinization that alters olivine and pyroxene-rich, silica-
poor igneous rocks. This process occurs at low temperatures
(up to 400°F/200°C) and in the presence of water. The
original minerals are oxidized to produce serpentine,
magnetite , and brucite . The degree to which a rock
undergoes serpentinization depends on the composition of
the parent rock and the mineral composition of its
components, especially its olivine . For example, fayalite-rich
olivines serpentinize differently than forsterite-rich olivines.