Metamorphic

Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are produced from preexisting
igneous, sedimentary, or from other metamorphic rocks.
Every metamorphic rock has a parent rock the rock from
which it was formed.
Metamorphism, which means to change form, is a
process that leads to changes in the mineralogy, texture,
and sometimes the chemical composition of rocks. Factors
that might cause a rock to alter from one form to another
includes changes in temperature, pressure (stress), and
the introduction to chemically active fluids.
Metamorphism often progresses incrementally, from slight
changes (low-grade metamorphism) to substantial
changes (high-grade metamorphism). An example of
low-grade would be shale turning into slate when put
under pressure (stress). In high-grade changes, slight
melting may occur, as well as folds or obliteration of
fossils or vesicles in the parent rock.

Examples of
Metamorphic Rocks

Gneiss

Slate

Schist

Marble

Quartzite

Phyllite

What Drives Metamorphism?

The agents of metamorphism include heat, pressure
(stress), and chemically active fluids. During
metamorphism, rocks may be subjected to all three
metamorphic agents simultaneously.
Heat is the most important of metamorphism because it
provides the energy to drive chemical reactions that
result in the recrystallization of existing materials and/or
the formation of new materials.
Earths
internal heat
comes mainly
from
radioactive
decay within
the Earths

What Drives Metamorphism?

Pressure, like temperature, increases as you get
deeper into the Earth. Buried rocks are subjected to this
pressure, called confining pressure, which causes the
spaces between mineral grains to close, producing a
more compact rock having a greater density. This
pressure may ultimately cause minerals to recrystallize
into new minerals that a display a more compact form.
Unlike confining pressure,
which squeezes rock
equally in all directions (and
does not fold or deform
them), differential stress,
where forces pushing on the
rocks are unequal, can
create folds and
deformation. This is

Metamorphic Rock Textures

Texture is used to describe the
size, shape, and arrangement of
grains within a rock.
Most igneous and sedimentary
rocks consist of mineral grains
that have a random orientation.
By contrast, deformed
metamorphic rocks that contain
platy minerals (micas) and/or
elongated minerals
(amphiboles) typically display
some kind of preferred
orientation in which the mineral
grains exhibit a parallel or
specific alignment. This

Mica
Schist

Gedrite

Examples of Foliated Textures

Various types of foliation exist, depending largely upon
the grade of metamorphism and the mineralogy of the
parent rock. Well look at three main types of foliation:
rock or slaty cleavage; schistosity; and gneissic texture.
Rock or Slaty
Cleavage: This type of
foliated texture
describes a rocks
tendency to break or
cleave along a specific
crystal plane. Slate is a
rock with excellent rock
cleavage, as it breaks
in flat slabs.

Examples of Foliated Textures

Schistosity: This type
of foliated texture
describes a rock
created with large,
platy minerals (such as
mica and chlorite) that
have grown large
enough to be seen by
the unaided eye.
In addition to platy
minerals, schist often
contains deformed
quartz and feldspar
grains that appear as
flat, or lens-shaped,

Examples of Foliated Textures

Gneissic Texture:
During high-grade
metamorphism, ion
migrations can result in
the segregation of
minerals.
Although foliated,
gneisses will not
usually split as easily
as slates and schists.
Gneisses that do
cleave tend to break
parallel to their
foliation and expose

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Gneiss

Slate

Schist

Phyllite

Other Metamorphic Textures

Not all metamorphic rocks exhibit a foliated texture.
Those that do not are referred to as nonfoliated.
Nonfoliated textures usually form in environments where
parent rocks are composed of minerals that exhibit
equidimensional crystals, such as quartz or calcite.
Another texture common to
metamorphic rocks consists
of particularly large grains,
called porphyroblasts, that
are surrounded by a finegrained matrix of other
minerals. Porphyroblastic
textures develop in a wide
range of environments and
result in very large
specimens of certain

Nonfoliated Metamorphic Rocks

Marble

Quartzite

The exterior of the Taj Mahal is constructed mainly of the

metamorphic rock marble.

Metamorphic
Environments

Hydrothermal metamorphism occurs when hot fluids

circulate through fissures and cracks that develop in
rock. This hot fluid chemically alters rocks and is closely

Metamorphic Environments
There are a number of environments in which
metamorphism occurs. Most are in the vicinity of plate
margins, and many are associated with igneous activity.
Contact or
thermal
metamorphism
occurs when rocks
immediately
surrounding a
molten igneous
body are baked
and therefore
altered from their
original state.

Metamorphic Environments

Regional metamorphism occurs where rocks are

squeezed between two converging lithospheric plates
during mountain building.

The typical transition in mineralology that results from

progressive metamorphism of shale.