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Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith ) is subjected to temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C (300 to 400 °F) and, often, elevated pressure of 100 megapascals (1,000 bar ) or more, causing profound physical or chemical changes.
This results in a banded, or foliated, rock, with the bands showing the colors of the minerals that formed them. Foliated rock often develops planes of cleavage . Slate is an example of a foliated metamorphic rock, originating from shale , and it typically shows well-developed cleavage that allows slate to be split into thin plates.
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains, cemented together by another mineral. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. [1] Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar, because they are the most resistant minerals to the weathering processes at the Earth's ...
Arkose – Type of sandstone containing at least 25% feldspar; Banded iron formation – Distinctive layered units of iron-rich sedimentary rock that are almost always of Precambrian age; Breccia – Rock composed of angular fragments; Calcarenite – Type of limestone that is composed predominantly of sand-size grains; Chalk – Soft carbonate ...
Quartzite can have a grainy, glassy, sandpaper-like surface. Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. [1] [2] Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts.
Psammite (Greek: psammitēs "(made) from sand", from psammos "sand") [1] is a general term for sandstone.It is equivalent to the Latin-derived term arenite [2] [3] and is commonly used in various publications to describe a metamorphosed sedimentary rock with a dominantly sandstone protolith. [4]
Greywacke or graywacke (German grauwacke, signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix.
In clastic sedimentary rocks, grain size is the diameter of the grains and/or clasts that constitute the rock. These are used to determine which rock naming system to use (e.g., a conglomerate, sandstone, or mudstone). In the case of sandstones and conglomerates, which cover a wide range of grain sizes, a word describing the grain size range is ...