JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY PETROLOGY, VOL. 37, No. 2.

PP, 401-424
FIGS. 1-27, JUNE, 1967

ORIGINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CLASTIC QUARTZ GRAINS ~

HARVEY BLATT
University of Houston, Houston, Texas

ABSTRACT
Granular gravel and sand-sized quartz fragments in untransported naturally disintegrated detritus were
examined from nineteen massive plutonic rocks, sixteen gneisses, and six schists located in the desert areas of
southern Arizona and southern California.
"['he mean size and standard deviation of each quartz type derived from each rock group reveal: (I) the mean
size ef total quartz released from massive plutonic rocks and gneisses is identical (coarse sand) and is one and
one-half to two times coarser than total quartz released from schists; (2) monocrystalline quartz grains with un-
dulatory extinction are coarser in size than non-undulatory grains. Therefore, grain size must be specified when
the percentages of non-undu[aterv quartz in sandstones are compared.
The angular difference between c-axes in medium sand-sized quartz grains with undulatory extinction
averages four to five degrees with standard deviation of two to three degrees and is independent of the type of
rock from which the grain was derived. Measurements of this feature are probably useless as indicators of
provenance.
Polycrysta[llne quartz grains are yielded in abundance by each of the groups of rocks examined. Higher
proportions of these grains occur in the coarser size fractions. Therefore, the proportion of polycrystalllne quartz
released from each type of rock depends, in part, upon the size frequency distribution of total quartz released
from the rock. Polycrystalline quartz grains of granular gravel to medium sand size are nut derived almost
entirely from foliated metamorphic rocks. PolyerystaIline quartz grains from the several types of rocks exam-
ined possess some distinguishing features. (I) For any grain size other than very fine sand, polyerystalline
quartz from gneisses will be formed of a greater number of quartz crystals than will grains from massive
plutonic rocks or schists. (2) Quartz crystals in polycrystalline grains from gneisses and schists commonly show
preferred crystallographic orientation. (3) The grain size distribution of quartz crystals forming polycrystalline
grains from gneisses and schists is frequently bimodal. Intragranular suturing and moderate grain elongation
are not reliable as indicators of provenance, Monocrystalline quartz grains between granular gravel and medium
sand size are derived in much greater abmldanee from massive plutonie rocks than from gneisses or schists.
However, a terrain exposing follated rocks (gneisses plus schists) will yield an amount of monocrystalllne quartz
approximately equal to that yielded by a terrain of massive plutonic rocks.
Comparison of the character of first-cycle quartz, as observed in this study, with quartz as seen in many
mineralogically mature sandstones provides strong evidence that quartz grains are reduced in size by sedimen-
tary processes. Size for size, the more mature sediments contain lower proportions of polycrystalline quartz
in their total quartz, higher proportions of non-undulatory quartz, lower proportions of grains in the 1-4 mm
size range, and fewer elongate quartz grains.

INTRODUCTION A N D PURPOSE OF STUDY" T h e purpose of the present investigation is to

This study is a continuation of earlier work
(BIatt and Christie, 1963) to evaluate the use-
fulness of clastlc q u a r t z grains as clues to the
sedimentary history of sands and sandstenes. I n
the previous study, the frequency of occurrence
of u n d u l a t o r y extinction in quartz crystals was
determined q u a n t i t a t i v e l y in a variety of mas-
sive plutonic rocks, gneisses, a n d schists. In
addition, q u a l i t a t i v e estimates were m a d e of the
proportion of polycrystalline quartz grains t h a t
might be released from these types of rocks. T h e
d a t a obtained indicated t h a t most quartz grains
in the rocks examined have u n d u l a t o r y extinc-
tion and t h a t a m o n g the quartz grains released
from all three types of rocks, there would prob-
ably be a large proportion of polycrystalline
quartz fragments.
x Manuscript received June 11, 1966; revised Octo-
ber 17, 1966.
determine t h e size a n d internal s t r u c t u r e of
clastie quartz fragments immediately after re-
lease from their p a r e n t igneous or m e t a m o r p h i c
rock. F r o m these data, t h e characteristics of
quartz in the m a j o r source rocks of sediments
can be traced t h r o u g h t h e b i r t h process into
first cycle s e d i m e n t a r y d e t r i t u s a n d make it pos-
sible to determine the interrelationships a m o n g
type of source rock, initial size of quartz
grains, a n d the internal s t r u c t u r e of the quartz
f r a g m e n t : polycrystalline, monocrystalline with
u n d u l a t o r y extinction, or monocrystalline with
n o n - u n d u l a t o r y extinction.
]PREVIOUS WORK
Only Dake (1921) a n d F e n i a k (1944) h a v e
published m e a s u r e m e n t s of t h e sizes of q u a r t z
grains in igneous and m e t a m o r p h i c rocks; no
one has examined the i m m e d i a t e disintegration
products of such rocks: grus, gnus, (?), sehus (?).
402 HARVEY
Dake (1921) measured the longest diameter of
a total of 420 quartz grains in thin-sections of
fourteen different massive plutonic rocks. His
data indicate that quartz grains in these rocks
have a mean sieve size of approximately 1.33~
(0.40 mm) and a standard deviation of approxi-
mately 1.06¢. (Dake's thin-section measure-
meats were converted to sieve equivalents using
the graphs of Friedman, 1962, p. 17, fig. 1, and
p. 21, fig. 5.) If Dake's values can be taken as
typical of quartz grains in massive plutonic
rocks, then the size range between +0.27~b (0.83
ram) and + 2 . 3 9 ~ (0.18 ram) should include 68
percent of the quartz grains from such rocks',
and 95 percent should be included within the
size range - 0 . 7 9 5 (1.73 mm) to + 3 . 4 5 5 (0.09ram)
Feniak (1944) measured maximum lengths
and widths of quartz grains in thin-sections of
118 massive plutonic rocks. He found that the
dimensions of the average quartz grain differed
significantly between "silicic" rocks, "inter-
mediate" rocks, and "basic" rocks, being 0.85
mm (0.25¢) X 0.55 mm for 88 rocks in the first
group, 0.49 mm (1.0~b) X 0.34 mm for 26 rocks
in the second group, and 0.39 mm (1.35~)
0.26 mm for 4 rocks in the third group. The
weighted mean of these thin-sectlon measure-
ments of grain length, converted to sieve
equivalents, is +0,95~b (0.52 mm). These data
suggest that the size of quartz grains in a mas-
sive plutonic rock may be proportional to the
percentage of quartz in the rock.
M E T H O D S OF S T U D Y
Weathered, disintegrated, untransported de-
tritus was collected from small talus cones at the
base of outcrops of nineteen massive plutonic
rocks, sixteen gneisses, and six schists, in desert
areas of southern California and southern Ari-
zona. The effect of different climatic conditions
on the data obtained in the present work is un-
known.
The designation "massive plutonic rock" was
restricted to those rocks possessing massive or
hypidiomorphic-granular texture. Rocks of gran-
itoid mineral composition but having megascop-
ically visible flow structure or banding of nfin-
erals were gronped as gneisses. A hand specimen
of the fresh, unweathered rock and a sample of
the disintegrated material weighing several
thousand grams were collected at each locality.
Care was taken to assure that each outcrop
sampled contained only one rock type.
In the laboratory, approximately 100-150
grams of each sample were randomly selected
and boiled for twenty minutes in a 5 percent
solution of oxalic acid (Leith, 1950) to dis-
aggregate fragments held together only by iron
oxide generated on the outcrop. Agitation in a
BLA TT
liquid may be analogous to the first few hundred
feet of stream transportation; however, for the
purposes of this study, the size distribution after
agitation is considered to represent that of the
sediment "when released from the parent rock."
After being boiled in the acid, the sediment
was dried, sieved at one phi iixtervals for fifteen
minutes in a Ro-Tap machine, weighed to the
nearest 0.01 gram, and bottled.
Subsequently, each size fraction was set in
plastic and thin-sectioned. Visual examinatiort
of numerous samples of the loose detritus had
indicated that the maximum grain size of
quartz fragments in the samples was always
less than - 2 ~ (4 ram). Examination using a
binocular microscope revealed that quartz
grains in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks
and gneisses are present in small quantities in
the fine and very fine sand sizes, and are neg-
ligible in quantity (less than 1 percent of total
quartz) in silt sizes. Consequently, thin-sections
were made of the grains within each one-phi
size range for all sizes between - 2 ~ (4 mm) and
--~-4~# (.062 ram). The samples of disintegrated
schists examined contained 4 to 6 percent of
silt-sized grains of minerals and rock fragments
and large amounts of the total quartz in these
rocks occur in the fine and very fine sand sizes.
However, owing to the uncertainties inherent in
the determination of the grain size of silt parti-
cles and the additional uncertainties involved
in determining the percentage of quartz among
these grains, this material was not examined
for mineralogic content. As a result, the size
distributions obtained for monocrystalline
quartz grains and to a lesser degree those ob-
tained for total quartz in disintegrated schists
are not as accurate as those for disintegrated
massive plutonic rocks and gneisses. Poly-
crystalline quartz grains are of coarser size than
monocrystalline grains and, therefore, the silt-
sized detritus from schists could contain only
negligible quantities of polycrystalline quartz.
Linear traverses were made across each slide
to determine the percentages of quartz, feld-
spar, rock fragments, and accessory minerals
excluding mica flakes. Traverses were continued
until either one hundred quartz grains were in-
cluded in the total count, or until a total of five
hundred grains was counted in the slide. Since
very few slides contained more than 20 percent
of quartz grains, counting was almost always
continued until a total of five hundred grains
was reached. All of the slides of the coarser sand
and granular gravel-sized fragments contained
less than five hundred grains, and in these slides
all grains were counted. Table 1 shows the re-
lationship between grain size and number of
grains counted in the three rock groups studied.
 ORIGINAL CHARACTERISTICS
TABLE 1,--Relationship between grain size, mean number of total grains counted, and mean number of quartz
grains counted in disintegrated massive plu~on~ rocks, gneisses, and schists
Massive Plutonic Rocks
Mean No. Mean No. Mean No.
Grain Size of Total of Quartz of Total
Grains Grains
Counted Counted Counted
--24, to -- 14, 45.8 4.1
-- 14, to 04, 119.1 14.7
04, to + 1 4 , 349.8 55.5
+14, to +24, 476. I 69.9
+24, to +34, 493.8 52.3
+34, to +44, 499.1 28.8
In making the point counts, the only grains
counted were those whose diameter in thin-
section was at least as large as the hole diameter
of the sieve from which they came. For example,
in the thin-sections of grains which were retained
on the 1 mm sieve, only grains whose thin-
section diameters were 1 mm or larger were in-
cluded in the point counts. Smaller fragments
were not considered to be mineralogically rep-
resentative of the original whole grain. In order
to be counted as a quartz grain, it was required
that at least 90 percent of the area of the particle
in thln-sectlon be formed of quartz.
The raw weight of each size fraction was then
multiplied by the percentage of quartz in that
size. In this way, the size distribution of the
clastic quartz grains in each sample was ob-
tained. The size distributions were plotted on
arithmetic probability graph paper and size
parameters computed using the formulas sug-
gested by Folk and Ward (1957).
During the traverses of each thin-section, the
internal structure of each quartz grain was
noted. Three types of internal structure were
recognized, two of which are analogous to those
defined in the examination of thin-sections of
undisintegrated igneous and metamorphic rocks
(Blatt and Christie, 1963, p. 564-565).
1) N o n - u n d u l a t o r y - - a monocrystalline quartz
grain showing no visible evidence of strain.
(less than one degree of rotation of the flat mciro-
scope stage). A monocrystalline quartz grain was
defined as one whose area in thin-section com-
posed 90 percent or more of a single crystal unit
of quartz. Shreds of feldspar, quartz, mica, or
other minerals attached to the quartz grain but
which totaled less than 10 percent of the grain
area in thin-section were not considered sufficient
to designate the grain as a rock fragment. There
were two reasons for this decision: (1) such
shreds of grains would probably be removed
from the quartz grain with very slight trans-
portation, such as a few hundred teet; (2) if
such grains were counted as rock fragments,
OF CLASTIC QUARTZ GRAINS 403
Gneisses Schists
Mean No. Mean No. Mean No.
of Quartz of Total of Quartz
Grains Grains Grains Grains
Counted Counted Counted
43.4 2.4 50.7 2.3
121.8 12.3 135.5 16.8
402.1 46.2 420.5 55.7
500.0 47.2 500.0 77.7
500.0 47.8 500.0 89.8
500.0 31.5 250.0 37.3
very few slides would contain sufficient quartz
grains for meaningful point counts to be made.
2) U n d u l a t o r y - - a monocrystalline quartz
grain showing visible evidence of being strained.
The zones of undulatory extinction may be
either gradational into one another or be sepa-
rated by more or less well defined planes. In
most grains examined in the present study, the
zones of undulatory extinction were separated
by well defined planes (fig. 1A-D), a char-
acteristic of quartz which has been "strongly"
deformed (Bailey, Bell, and Peng, 1958, p. 1446,
1461). It should be emphazised that the dis-
tinction between "undulatory" and "non-undu-
latory" quartz grains depends, at least in part,
on the optical quality of the lenses in the micro-
scope used and on the "quality of observation"
of the observer. The change from "non-undula-
tory" to "undulatory" is completely grada-
tional and it may be possible for a "non-undu-
latory" quartz grain to show asterism of Laue
spots, that is "crypto-undulatory" extinction.
3) Polycrystalline---a quartz grain composed
of two or more quartz crystal units, each of which
may be either strained or unstrained. The
boundaries between adjacent crystal units may
be either planar, curved, or sutured. In po]y-
crystalline quartz grains, more than 10 percent
of the grain area in thin-section is occupied by
another quartz crystal. The number of appar-
ently different quartz crystals contained in each
polycrystalline quartz grain in the plane of the
thin-section was determined quantitatively in
grains containing thirteen or fewer crystals.
Quartz aggregates composed of a greater num-
ber of crystals were grouped together during
counting. Physical separation of quartz crystal
units within the polycrystalline grain was not
accepted as conclusive evidence that the units
were parts of different quartz grains in the un-
disintegrated rock. Coincidence of optical ori-
entation, intensities of undulatory extinction,
and parallelism of zones of undulatory extinction
frequently indicated that quartz units which
404 HAR VE Y BLA TT

FIG. I.--(A) Monocrystalline quartz grain, gneiss detritus, coarse sand fraction. Blocky polygonal boundaries
to zones of undulatory extinction. (B) Monocrystalline quartz grain, gneiss detritus, coarse sand fraction, show-
ing enlargement of the blocky polygonal boundary. Note that the abrupt changes in c-axis orientations within
the grain are not marked by "dust" trails or planes of bubble inclusions. (C) Part of a monocrystalline quartz
grain in massive plutonlc detritus, coarse sand fraction, containing three distinct and sharply defined c-axis
orientations. Note that the boundary between the two darker zones is marked by a "dust" or bubble trail.
This boundary may represent either polygonization or parts of the grain which have undergone brittle fracture,
slight rotation with respect to each other, and partial healing. (D) Monocrystalline quartz grain from gneiss
detritus, very coarse sand fraction, showing "dust" trails marking sharply defined areas having different c-axis
orientations. Note that trails may be curved (as at "a") or intersect at an acute angle (trails labeled "b").

appeared physically distinct in thin-sectlon were
actually p a r t s of a single grain (figs. 2A, B).
In such cases the separated portions were
counted as a single q u a r t z crystal unit. Re-
counts of several slides indicate t h a t d a t a ob-
tained in this m a n n e r are quite reproducible.
In order to o b t a i n consistency with the defini-
tion of a monoerystalline quartz grain (see
above), q u a r t z crystal units within the poly-
crystalline grain were counted only until 90
percent of the area of the polycrystalline grain
was included by the grains counted. T h a t is, in
a coarse sand-sized fragment, for example, a
group of three tiny quartz crystal units totaling
less t h a n 10 percent of the area of the poly-
crystalline grain would not be counted.
A rock f r a g m e n t was defined as composed of
more t h a n one mineral species. In these grains,
less t h a n 90 percent of the grain area in thin
section is composed of a single mineral species.
For each of the 41 disintegrated igneous a n d
m e t a m o r p h i c rocks examined, size frequency
distributions were determined for total quartz,
polycrystalline quartz, total monocrystalline
quartz, monocrystalline u n d u l a t o r y quartz, and
monoerystalllne n o n - u n d u l a t o r y quartz. How-
ever, some samples contained only very small
a m o u n t s of one or more of t h e several varieties
of quartz, a n d it was necessary to d e t e r m i n e t h e
weight below which it is not possible to estab-
lish a meaningful size frequency curve. I t seems
clear t h a t the a m o u n t of q u a r t z required for this
purpose m u s t be a function of the n u m b e r of
size grades in which t h e particular quartz t y p e
occurs; the more size grades represented, the
greater m u s t be the total weight of t h a t quartz
t y p e in order to indicate its true size-frequency
distribution. By trial a n d error, the writer found
t h a t a smooth cumulative size-frequency curve
was o b t a i n e d for all weights of a quartz type
which averaged more t h a n 0.3 gr per size grade
in which it occurred. Consequently, this figure
was adopted as t h e m i n i m u m required for con-
struction of a size frequency curve. As a result,
 ORIGINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CLASTIC QUARTZ GRAINS 405

A 8
FIG. 2.--(A) Polycrystalline quartz grain from massive plutonic detritus, medium sand fraction, formed of
only two quartz crystals but appearing to be formed of five due to effect of thin-sectioning. Intercrystalline
boundaries are straight to somewhat curved in this grain. (B) Polycrystalline quartz grain fr¢m gneiss detritus,
coarse sand fraction, showing polycrystalline quartz grain formed of only two quartz crystals but appearing to
be formed of four. IntercrystaUine boundaries are moderately sutured in this grain.

the number of samples used in the construction of the several "pigeon holes" possible within
of the mean size distributions of the several this compositional range. The mean sample size
quartz types may differ within each type of was 113.7 grs. (range 75.7-148.5); the amount of
source rock. For example, in the disintegrated quartz in the - 2 ~ to +44~ size grades averaged
massive plutonic rocks, size frequency distri- 14.4 grs. (range 4.6--38.3).
butions for monocrystalline quartz grains were In view of the values published by Dake
obtained from all 19 samples; but the average (1921) and Fenlak (1944) the large grain size of
size frequency curve for polycrystalline quartz the average quartz fragment in the granitoid de-
grains was based on 16 samples, and the curve
for non-undulatory grains on only seven samples.
The number of samples used in the construction
of each curve is noted in its figure legend.
Using a universal stage, measurements were
made of the degree of undulatory extinction in ~ 32.72
the strained monocrystal]ine quartz grains in ~. 27.26- ~////
each slide of the medium sand-sized fractions
of five massive plutonic rocks, and five schists.
This was accomplished by" locating the areas g.
within each grain showing the greatest dl- ~_
vergence in optical orientation, plotting the
orientation of the c-axis of the grain in each of
these areas on a stereonet, and measuring the
angular difference between them. The number of t
strained grains measured was, of course, limited /
by the number of monocrystalline undulatory, B A S E D ON
/
quartz grains in each slide and averaged 64
grains in the massive plutonic rocks, and 20
-19 SAMPLES- /
grains in the schists. Because of a scarcity of / f MEAN : + 0 . 4 B
STANDARD DEVIATION
monocrystalline quartz grains in detritus from g- : 1.17 #
f
gneisses, no measurements of degree of undula- / SKEWNESS = + 0,12
KURTOSIS = 1.03
tory extinction were made in these grains. ® /
g /
w
MASSIVE PLUTONIC ROCKS ~_ #
Total Quartz
Almost half (19) of the forty-one disintegrated
/
-I 0 I 2 3 4
igneous and metamorphic rocks examined are
massive plutonie rocks. These rocks range in
FIG. 3.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency
composition from granite to quartz diorite. No curve of the distribution of quartz grains in disinte-
a t t e m p t was made to place each sample in one grated massive plutonic rocks.
406 HA R VE Y BLA TT
tritus (fig. 3) was surprising. Mean size of these
quartz grains is +0.484~ (0.72 mm). Standard de-
viation is 1.17~; skewness is + . 1 2 ; kurtosis is
1.03. This mean size is 38 percent coarser than
Feniak's value and is 80 percent coarser than the
one obtained by Dake. The cause of this differ-
ence is the abundance of polycrystalline quartz
grains in the total quartz of the disintegrated
rocks examined, and such grains are significantly
coarser in size than are monocrystalline quartz
grains (see below). Both Dake and Feniak based
their estimates of size on the assumption that all
quartz fragments released from massive plutonic
rocks would be monocrystalline; they assumed
that adjacent quartz crystals in the rock would
separate along their boundaries during weather-
ing. The mean of the size distribution of mono-
crystalline quartz grains in the present study of
disintegrated rock is remarkably similar to the
average of the values obtained by Dake and
Feniak from their studies of undisintegrated
rocks present study 1.03ek (0.49 mm); Dake
1.33~ (0.40 ram) ; Feuiak 0.95~b (0.52 ram). Con-
sidering that Dake's conclusions were base on
only 14 samples and those of the present work on
19, in contrast to 118 examined by Feniak, the
the near-coincidence of results is meaningful.
A substantial proportion of quartz grains was
noticeably elongate (fig. 4) in the detritus from
FIG, 4.--Three polycrystalline and two monocrystalline quartz grains from massive plutonic detritus, me-
dium sand fraction. Note pronounced elongation of the three quartz grains in the center of the photo. Also
straight to slightly sutured intercrystal boundaries.
all rock types examined. Elongation was partic-
ularly apparent among the polycrystalline
quartz fragments. Also, many quartz fragments
in the coarser fractions of the detritus from each
of the rock types contain hairline fractures which
undoubtedly will be the initial surfaces of
breakage early in the transportation process.
That these fractures were not generated during
grinding of the thin section is shown by the
following observations. (1) They become no-
ticeably less common in the finer sized sand
fractions, even around the edges of the slides
where the quartz has been ground thinnest.
(2) They are preseat in some abundance in a
diverse suite of mineralogically immature and
coarse sandstones examined but are uncommon
in more highly quartzose and finer grained sand-
stones. Such hairline fractures are rare or absent
in thin-sectioned grains of St. Peter sand and re-
cent beach and river sands examined. Conse-
quently, there can be no doubt that these frac-
tures are formed naturally. They are believed to
be responsible for a fairly rapid initial reduction
in size of the coarser clastic quartz grains. Moss
(1966) reached a similar conclusion from his ex-
amination of naturally disintegrated British
granites.
As the average sandstone is composed of
approximately two-thirds quartz grains, the
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF CLASTIC Q U A R TZ G R A I N S 407

effective upper size limit of quartz as it enters

its initial sedimentary cycle is of interest in re-
lation to the deficiency of grain size modes in the 40 ¸
--20 to (h# (4-1 ram) size range (Pettijohn, 1957,
p. 47-51) in sandstones. From figure 3, it is 31.1
clear that the amount of quartz released in the
--20 to 0~ size range from massive plutonic
rocks is not insignificant, amounting to more
t h a n one-third (369~,) of all quartz in the grus.
(As will be discussed later in this paper, this
figure is 40 percent for gneisses and 18 percent IG
for schists.) Why, then, do grain size modes 5.7
rarely occur in the very coarse sand size range?
Analysis of published data led Pettijohn (1957, 9s .

p. 50) to conclude tentatively that the cause is

not hydraulic, but probably results from an
,5
BASED ON
I
/
//
initial deficiency of monomineralic fragments in 84b-t9 SAMPLES -

this size range at the time of release of the de-

tritus from igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Lustig (1963) reached a similar conclusion. If
these authors are correct, the present data sug-
gest that granular gravel-slzed and very coarse
sand-sized quartz grains are reduced in size
fairly rapidly by sedimentary processes. This
suggestion is in marked contrast to the view of
Kuenen (1959, p. 30) that " . . . most quartz
grains survive a number of successive sedi-
mentation cycles without more than a few per-
cent loss in weight."
The size frequency distribution of total quartz
in the grus (fig. 3) is positively skewed and the
reason for this is uncertain. It is possible that
the skewness reflects the frequency distribution
characteristic of freshly disintegrated igneous
rock (Rosin's distribution) as suggested most
recently by Kittleman (1964). Frequency dis-
tributions which plot as nearly straight lines on
Rosin's law graph paper show a positive skew-
ness when plotted on arithmetic probability
graph paper. However, in the present study, we
are dealing with a nonrandom selection of parti-
cles from the natural detritus (the quartz grains
only) and it is uncertain whether the selection
of a sample on a mineralogic basis from a
Rosin's distribution should yield another Rosin's
distribution or a lognormal distribution.
Alternatively, it is possible that the slight
positive skewness is a result of the method of
analysis used in this study. In sizes smaller than
4 mm ( - 2 4 ) percentages of quartz were ob-
tained from thin-sections. Grains coarser than
--20 were examined visually and, in every case,
only polymineralic rock fragments were seen.
However, there is little question that, if thin-
sectioned, some of these rock fragments would
appear to be composed entirely of quartz. This
is true despite the fact that only grains of large
thin-section diameter were included in the point
counts. The addition of 2 to 4 percent of quartz
o. 50 '
d:L - 1.03
/ STANDARD DE¥[ATION =
?.5 i ~ 1.19 III --
~" IE : • SKEWNESS = + O.ll --
~2 /-I 0 i 2 3
[
4
¢
FIG. 5.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency"
curve of the distribution of monocrystalline quartz
grains in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks.
in the --34 to - 2 4 size fraction would eliminate
the slight positive skewness evident in figure 3.
If this latter suggestion is correct, there is little
reason to doubt that the size distribution of
total quartz grains released from massive plu-
tonic rocks is lognormal, with a mean size of
approximately 0.7 mm (0.54) and a standard
deviation of 1.20.
Monocrystalline Quartz
From a petrographic point of view, as con-
trasted to a statistical one, the skewness may
be viewed as resulting from the mixing of two
populations with differing grain sizes: (1) mono-
crystalline quartz grains and (2) polycrystalline
quartz grains. Monocrystalline quartz, which
forms 90 to 95 percent of the quartz grains in the
average sandstone (Blatt and Christie, 1963,
p. 577), forms 54 percent of the quartz released
from the massive plutonic rocks examined.
Figure 5 shows the size frequency distribution
of these grains. Towe (1963, p. 791) has reported
that grains of monoerystalline quartz greater
than 1 Into (0q~) in size are "rare" in "thousands
of samples" of sandstones examined by A. V.
Carozzi and his students. However, figure 5
indicates that 20 percent of the quartz in grus is
408 HARVEY BLA TT

non undulatory quartz is 10 percent in the very

very coarse sand size, 4 percent in the coarse
sand size, and 16 percent in the medium sand
371 size. (No estimate is possible for the granular
gravel size owing to the overall scarcity of quartz
grains in this size.) The differences between
these three values and the value of 13 percent
estimated from earlier examination of undis-
~ 2c integrated massive plutouic rocks (Blatt and
: 12,0 Christie, 1963, p. 567) are not statistically sig-
nificant. However, the percentage of non-undu-
latory quartz among monocrystalline quartz
grains in the fine and very fine sand sizes is
considerably greater than the percentages ob-
tained in the examination of the coarser grains.
9., i
BASEO ON / This suggests that differences in percentages of
84,-7 SAMPLES - I i /, non-undulatory quartz among different lithie
units, or among different thin-sections from the
o / same unit, cannot be contrasted unless the mean
size of the quartz grains is specified.
~" 25 N = -t- 1.95 $ There appear to be two causes for the increase
~ l£ / / STANDARD DEVIATION,o,g8, in percentage of non-undulatory quartz with de-
creasing grain size. One cause is that grains of
SKEWNESS = 4-0.03 different sizes, derived from the same uniformly-
5 I KURTOSIS = 1.00
bent larger grain, will have different degress of
-z -~ o i 2 3 4 undulatory extinction as indicated by the ex-
treme orientations of the c-axes in the grains.

Fro. 6.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency

curve of the distribution of non-undulatory quartz ,50
grains in disintegrated massive plutonlc rocks.
¢
of this size. (For detritus from gneisses and 35,8
o"
schists the values are only 4 percent and 5 per- o=

cent, respectively.) Once again, rapid size re- 26.1

duction of the coarser quartz grains is suggested
by the data of the present study.
As was the case for total quartz in the grus, ~_
the size distribution of monocrystalline quartz
is slightly positively skewed. The alternative
statistical explanations suggested to explain the
skewness of the distribution of total quartz are
equally applicable to that of monocrystalllne
quartz. From a petrographic point of view, the
9S

95
] ,/
the skewed size distribution of monocrystalline BASED ON j
-18 SAMPLES- 4'
quartz may be considered to result from the -
mixing of two populations, each of which forms AI = + 0.80 $
a symmetrical, lognormal distribution: (1) non- f STANDARD DEVIATION
= 1.02 Q
undulatory quartz, which forms 14 percent of SKEWNESS = -0.02
the monocrystalline quartz, and (2) undulatory KURTOSIS = 1.08
quartz, which forms 86 percent. Figures 6 and 7
illustrate the size distributions of each of these ¢.
two quartz types.
The incidence of undulatory extinction as a
function of grain size was determined for the
monocrystalline quartz grains in the grus. The iii
proportion of monocrystalline quartz grains with Fro. 7.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency
non-undulatory extinction appears to depend curve of the distribution of undulatory quartz grains
largely on grain size (fig. 8). The percentage of in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks.
 ORIGINAL CHARACTERISTICS OF C L A S T I C QUARTZ GRAINS 409

The i m p o r t a n c e of this effect is related to the TABLE Z--Summary of frequency distributions of

radiusof c u r v a t u r e on {0001} in the larger grain. degrees of undulatory extinction in monocrystaUine
quartz grains of medium sand size in five disintegrated
If the radius is large, as compared with the size massive plulonic rocks
of the smaller q u a r t z fragments, f r a g m e n t a t i o n
of the larger grain will h a v e a m a r k e d effect on Sample M, ~ Ski
the degree of u n d u l a t o r y extinction present in
the smaller fragments. If the radius of curva- 28 3.3 ° 2.1 ° -.10
ture in the p a r e n t grain is smaller t h a n or com- 60 3.8 ° 2.6 ° +.18
16 4.3 ° 1.9 ° + .22
parable with the size of the d a u g h t e r grains, 12 5.0 ° 2.0 ° +.28
fracturing should have little effect. 11 5.0 ° 2.9 ° +.22
T h e second cause of the a p p a r e n t relationship 4.3 ° 2.3 ° +.16
between grain size and percentage of non-undu-
latory quartz lies in the method by which the determined in a total of 320 medium sand-sized
point counts were made. The counts were made monocrystalline quartz grains from five disin-
on a flat microscope stage, a n d it seemed certain tegrated massive plutonic rocks selected a t ran-
t h a t m a n y grains which in reality have two or dom from the nineteen rocks of this type.
three degrees of u n d u l a t o r y extinction appeared The d a t a in table 2 (see also figure 9) indicate
to have less t h a n one degree on the flat state. t h a t the v a r i a t i o n in t h e m e a n degree of undula-
Such grains were t a b u l a t e d as non-undulatory. tory extinction among monocrystalline quartz
I t also appears quite likely t h a t this effect is grains of medium sand size derived from dif-
more p r o m i n e n t in smaller sized grains, as the ferent massive plutonic rocks is quite small,
distance over which the variation in extinction ranging from 3.3 ° to 5.0 ° . Nevertheless the small
position occurs becomes relatively large com- values of s t a n d a r d deviation for each of t h e five
pared to the size of the quartz grains. samples cause some of t h e means to be signifi-
The degree of undulatory, extinction was cantly different from each o t h e r (by t test).

I00
VERY FINE
SAND
I i
- +o .j/l I I I 32.1

70 I---- ~ MEDIUM SAND__

/ ! = ~ ~ 5 0 . 0 55
-° "" / I I

COARSE SAND
5C " . i;o. I J p+ 0.3
I
f
4C- I J
f
E
=
o
; ',VERY COARSE SAND
/
/
2( ,.
i'
/
" I~ ~~
I I f
UNDISINTEGRATED
MASSIVE PLUTONICROCKS
/
Co I0
(Blatt 8 Christie, 1963)
20 30 40 50 60 70
/
Meon oercent non-undulotoryquortz in monocrystolline quortz ) 2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 16
Oe(jree of undulatory extinction
FIG. 8.--Re]atlonshlp between internal structure
and grain size in monocrvstalline quartz grains in dis- FIG. 9.--Histogram and cumulative frequency
integrated massive plutonic rocks. The lines from each curve of the degree of undulatory extinction in me-
point indicate confidence limits on each mean at the dium sand-slzed monocrystalllne quartz grains in dis-
95 % level. integrated massive plutonie rocks.
410
c
e~2
~,4 ; is almost perfectly lognormal, with a mean of
,, 35.6
12.3
~ "2.5
.. /////Z
. !
BASED ON
/ types are similar, one phi unit for polycrystalline
- 16 SAMPLES--
g I / MEAN =-0.02
~.5(~ / STANDARDDEVIATION
= 1.00 II
~2~I SKEWNESS " "1-0.01
16; / KURTOSIS • 1.02
-I 0 I 2 3
FIG. 10.--Histogram and cunmlative size frequency
curve of the distribution of polycrystallitle quartz
grains in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks.
Presumably this may be explained by the dif-
ferent deformational histories of each of the five
massive plutonic rocks from which the quartz
grains were derived. The prominent positive
skewnesses of most of these frequency distri-
butions reflect the fact that most of the grains
(79%) have between slightly greater than 0 and
6 degrees of undulatory extinction, but values
range up to 16 degrees in the 320 grains ex-
amined. Such low values are similar to those
reported by Bailey, Bell, and Peng (1958, p.
1446) and are consistent with experimental evi-
deuce concerning the great strength of the
quartz structure.
As most sandstones probably contain quartz
grains from several different plutons, these d a t a
indicate that it will be difficult to differentiate
among medium grained sandstones on the basis
of degree of undulatory extinction in plastically
deformed quartz grains. It is possible that the
mean degree of undulatory extinction may differ
among quartz grain assemblages of like grain
size, but these differences wili apparently be
quite small and dimcult to detect, even with the
precision and accuracy obtainable using a uni-
versal stage. There would seem to be little hope
of using such a technique successfully in fine-
grained sands.
H A R VE Y B L A T T
Polycrystalline Quartz
The size distribution of polycrystalline quartz
grains in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks
- 0 . 0 2 4 and a standard deviation of 1.004) (fig.
10). Skewness and kurtosis are + . 0 1 and 1.02,
respecitvely. Addition of a few percent of quartz
in the --3cb to -2q~ size range would not cause a
significant negative skewness in this curve; that
is, the resultant skewness would remain within
the "near-symmetrlcal" range. The polycrystal-
line quartz grains average 1 mm in size and are
_ 0_.1
thus twice as coarse as the monocrystalline
quartz grains. Standard deviations of the two
quartz, 1.2 phi units for monocrystalline quartz.
As these two types of quartz in the grus differ
J in mean size by a factor of only two, it should be
true that the average polycrystalline quartz
grain is composed of only a few quartz crystals.
Figures 11 and 4 illustrate that this is indeed the
case. Only in the granular gravel and very
coarse sand sizes are significant proportions of
polyerystalline quartz grains formed of more
than five different quartz crystals. Clearly, finely
4 polyerystalline quartz grains of coarse to very
fine sand size are not derived in quantity from
plutonlc igneous rocks.
The intercrystalline boundaries within the
polycrystalline quartz grains range in character
from straight to sutured, but recrystallized areas
within polycrystalline fragments are uncommon.
Intercrystalline suturing in polycrystalline quartz
grains is not diagnostic of metamorphic deri-
vation. Morphologic or crystallographic pre-
ferred orientation of different crystal units
within the polycrystalline fragment is un-
common.
Polycrystalline quartz grains form a large per-
centage of the total quartz in the disintegrated
massive plutonic rocks, averaging 46 percent
with a standard deviation of 23 percent. Tbus,
almost half of all quartz grains released from the
granitoid rocks examined are polycrystalline.
These data are in marked contradiction to the
common assumption that granites yield almost
entirely monocrystalline quartz grains. As one
would anticipate, the percent of polycrystalline
quartz in the total quartz is strongly size de-
pendent, averaging 61 percent of the very coarse
sand-sized quartz, 49 percent of the coarse
sand-sized quartz, 28 percent of medium grained
quartz, 14 percent of fine quartz, and only 3 per-
cent of very fine grained quartz. Clearly massive
plutonic rocks supply appreciable amounts of
polycrystalline quartz to sediments; therefore,
it is unjustified to equate the presence of such
grains in a sediment with derivation from meta-
morphic terrains.
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF CLASTIC QUARTZ G R A I N S 411

DISINTEGRATED MASSIVE PLUTONIC ROCKS

GRANULAR V. COARSE COARSE MEDIUM FINE VERY FINE

GRAVEL SAND SAND SAND SAND SAND
(65 GRAINS) (178 GRAINS) (521GRAINS) (574 GRAINS) (128 GRAINS) (19 GRAINS)

I00
7
7~
90

80 //'
z /,

70 V. ,t
/, /,
(,.9 ,/ ,/

60
I.I.
r
0
I-
z
50
/
?,
-/
1.1.1 4 0
0 /

I.l.I 30 /, //
,/
,/ Z,/ ,/
,/ ,/
20 V,
~j

I0 C,
,jT~l
0
I ! i

&~6A Nm6A

NUMBER OF CRYSTALS IN POLYCRYSTALLINE QUARTZ GRAINS

FIG. 11.--Histogram of the number of quartz crysta]s contained in each grain size of polycrystalline
quartz fragment in disintegrated massive plutonic rocks.

An a t t e m p t was made to determine whether sampling of a small area or spot sampling of

the quartz grains derived from an areally re-
stricted massive plutonic source might have a
distinctive size distribution. Four samples of
grus were obtained from small roadside talus
cones less than 5 miles apart along a continuous
exposure of massive plutonic rock, were treated
in the same manner as all other samples, and
their frequency distributions compared with
those from widely separated outcrops in other
areas. No unusually close similarities are ap-
parent among the size distributions of the 4
contiguous samples; and the mean sizes of their
total quartz, polycrystalline quartz, and mono-
crystalline quartz are almost identical to the
average values for these quartz varieties as
obtained from the other 15 samples of massive
plutonic rocks. Such results suggest that the
same mean size of quartz grains for rocks of this
type will be obtained from either intensive
many outcrops over a large area.
GNEISSES
Total Quartz
The sample size of the disintegrated gneisses
averaged 118 grs. (range 74-188); the amount of
quartz in the --25 to +..l.g~ size grades averaged
12 grs. (range 4-18).
Figure 12 illustrates the size frequency curve
for total quartz in this sediment. This distribu-
tion, like that for total quartz in disintegrated
massive plutonic rocks, is trimodal; in the gneiss
detritus the modes lie at approximately +0.44~
(polycrystalline quartz), + 0 . 8 ~ (monocrystal-
line undulatory quartz), and --b2.7~ (mono-
crystalline non-undulatory quartz), as discussed
below. The mean grain size of + 0 . 4 8 ~ for total
quartz (coincldentally identical to that of dis-
integrated massive plutonic rocks) results from
412 HARV.E Y BLA TT

50 and quartz-bearing gneisses in source terrains

and (2) that equal amounts of total quartz are
contained in both rock groups. The data needed
4o for the calculation are easily obtained from a
o comparison of figures 5 and 13, modified by the
fact that massive plutonic rocks yield 2.4 times
25.89 as much monocrystaltine quartz in their total
quartz as the gneisses examined. The data indi-
cate t h a t for each monocrystalline quartz grain
~.~" ' 12.29 in each size grade released from gneisses, the
IO granitoid debris contains 8.5 grains in the gran-
ular gravel size, 14.1 in the very coarse sand
size, 5.0 in the coarse sand size, 3.0 in medium
sand, 1.1 in fine sand, and 0.5 in the very fine

"95 I
BASED ON /
/ sand size. The dominance of granitoid rocks as
suppliers of the coarser sand sizes of mono-
84--16 SAMPLES-- crystalline quartz to sediments is probably even
greater than the histograms indicate because of
~- 5C / /
/I
MEAN = + 0.48 ii
J the collection procedure used in this study. All
samples were collected from small talus cones
/ STANDARD DEVIATION
= 15615 along open stretches of highway in a semi-arid
2,~ f SKEWNESS = + 0.12 region, and it is quite probable that almost all
IE
/ KURTOSIS = 0.85 silt grains and probably some very fine sand
grains as well have been winnowed out by wind
,./
-z -i 6 i z 3 4
and rain immediately after release from the
gneiss. Monocrystalline quartz grains in detritus
¢ from the massive plutonic rocks are coarse
enough so that their size distribution is probably
FIG. 12.--}tistogram and cumulative size frequency
curve of the distribntion of quartz grains in disinte-
grated gneisses.
the relative amounts of these three petro- 4o
graphically distinct quartz types, and the large o
34.1
value of the standard deviation results from the =
large difference in size between the coarsest and ; ~ ' 258
finest modes in the distribution. The slight posi-
tive skewness of the distribution is identical in g
g 15.1
sign and amount to that of the quartz in grani-
told debris, and similar explanations for this de-
parture from lognormality can be applied.
Monocrystalline Quartz 0.6
Monocrystalline quartz forms only 22 percent
of the total quartz in disintegrated gneisses, in 94 ' /
contrast to 54 percent of the total quartz in BASED ON
- 9 SAMPLES- - /
disintegrated massive plutonic rocks. Figure 13
shows the size frequency distribution of this
quartz type in gneiss detritus, and it is apparent /,
that it is also considerably finer in size than t h a t
from grus. Whereas, the mean size of single
crystals of quartz derived from the grus lies I STANDARD DEVIATION
= HI#
near the coarse sand-medium sand boundary o
I SKEWNESS= -0.23
(+1.035), the analogous grains from disinte- / r KURTOSIS]=Ofl
grated gneisses average fine sand size ( + 2.185).
The relative amounts of monocrystalline -I O i 2 s
quartz in each size grade yielded to sediments by
these two rock groups were compared. Such a FIG. 13.--Histogram and cumulative'sizerfrequency
comparison is possible if one can assume (1) curve of the distribution of monocrystalline quartz
equal areas of exposure of massive plutonic rocks grains in disintegrated gneisses.
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF CLASTIC Q U A R TZ G R A I N S
unaffected by winnowing at the sample site, but
significant amounts of very fine sand from gneiss
detritus may have been lost to the analyses of
the present investigation. If this hypothesis is
correct, the proportion of quartz sand in the
in the coarser sizes that is released by gneisses is
even less than the histograms indicate, the win-
nowing hypothesis would also explain the
reason for the pronounced negative skewness of
the size frequency curve of monocrystailine
quartz from gneisses.
Blatt and Christie (1963, p. 576) found that
the average percent of non-undulatory quartz
among monocrystalline grains in 24 undistin-
tegrated gneisses was 13 percent. In the present
study this value is 30 percent, very probably as
as a result of the fine grain size of the monocrys-
talline quartz grains present in the disintegrated
gneisses examined. The data from disintegrated
granitoid rocks discussed above (fig. 8) indicated
that an assemblage of fine and very fine sand-
sized monocrystalline quartz grains will have
two or three times the proportion of non-undu-
latory grains than will an assemblage of medium
or coarse quartz grains. The reason that the
single crystals of quartz are of such small size
in the disintegrated gneisses examined is uncer-
tain, but may be due to separation of quartz
crystals along hairline fractures during disin-
tegration of the rock.
None of the samples of gneiss detritus con-
tained sufficient weight of non-undulatory
quartz to allow a meaningful size frequency
curve to be constructed, possibly because this
type of quartz is most prominent in the finest
sand sizes, precisely the sizes in which the
effects of winnowing at the sample site would
be most pronounced. However, six samples con-
tained adequate weights of undulatory quartz,
and the mean size frequency curve for these
samples is shown in figure 14. The number of
samples involved is too few to allow more than
very tentative interpretations to be formed, but
the fact that the undulatory quartz grains have
a coarser mean size than do undifferentiated
monocrystalline quartz grains clearly indicates
the relatively fine size of the non-undulatory
quartz released from the disintegrated gneisses.
The standard deviation of the size distribution
of undulatory grains is similar to the values
determined earlier for the same type of quartz in
grus, and the negative skewness of undulatory
quartz from gneisses is probably due to the
winnowing effect at the sample site.
Polyerystalline Quartz
The size distribution of polycrystalline quartz
in disintegrated gneisses (fig. 15) is lognormal
with a mean of ..4-0.074~ (0.95 ram) and standard
413
g 34.2
!
• 0,0 : 13.4
9~
95 d
BASED ON
- 6 SAMPLES
/
~75
/ STANDARD
SKEWNESS
DEVIATION
= 1.1211
= -0.13
KLIRTOSI$ = 0.81
.2 -i
/ 6
L
i
I
2
I
3
J
FIG, 14.--Histogram and cunmlative size frequency
curve of the distribution of undulatory quartz grains
in disintegrated gneisses.
deviation of 1.27~. This mean size is not sig-
nificantly different from that of the log-
normally distributed polycrystalline quartz from
disintegrated massive plutonlc rocks (fig. 10).
This fact, coupled with the relatively fine size
of monocrystalline quartz (0.22 mm) in gneiss
detritus as compared to grus, suggests that the
quartz crystals forming the polycrystalline
quartz derived from gneisses are smaller in size
and greater in number than in polycrystalline
quartz of the same size in grus. This further
suggests the possibility that it may be possible
to differentiate statistically between poly-
crystalline quartz from gneisses and massive
plutonic rocks. Figure 16 is a histogram of the
relationship between the grain size of poly-
crystalline quartz in disintegrated gneisses and
the number of quartz crystals contained in the
grains. Comparison with figure 11, the analogous
histogram for grus, clearly shows that gneissic
quartz is indeed more finely polycrystalline than
quartz from massive plutonic rocks. For
example, among the granular gravel-sized grains
from the granitoid rocks almost half (48~) are
formed of only 2 to 5 individual quartz crystals;
only five percent of grains of this size from the
gnelsses are this coarsely crystalline. A large dif-
ference in proportion of polycrystalline quartz
414
o=
"
~2C 22.6
24.3
//.///
~ 29.3
,~ roi~ 16,5 i
BASED=ON I J fine grained quartz. W h a t is the comparison be-
84-16 SAI~PLES~
. I Jf
'/, MEAN-+0_07 .
= STANDARD DEVIATION
o'50
- 25
' SKEWNESS =
KURTOSIS0.90
: 1.27#
FIG. 15.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency
curve of the distribution of polycrystalline quartz
grains in disintegrated gneisses.
grains formed of only 2 to 5 crystals persists
through the fine sand-sized grains. The histo-
grams for the very fine sand grains are statis-
tically identical. It appears likely that a criterion
for distinguishing between polycrystalline quartz
grains derived from massive plutonic rocks and
gneisses might be based on the number of quartz
crystals forming the thin-sectioned grains.
Another distinguishing characteristic between
polycrystalline quartz fragments from the two
types of rock is the occurrence in some of the
polycrystalline gneissic quartz fragments of
bimodality in the size distribution of the un-
broken quartz crystals. During recrystallization
of a quartz aggregate new grains tend to be ini-
tiated at grain boundaries and, if recrystalliza-
tion is terminated prior to the development of an
equigranular texture, the resulting metamor-
phic rock (and fragments weathered from it) will
show two distinct crystal sizes. This type of tex-
ture has been produced experimentally from St.
Peter sand by Ernst and Blatt (1964, plate lc)
and by Carter, Christie, and Griggs (1964,
plates 8 b, c, and 9a-f).
Polycrystalline quartz fragments formed of
crystals having either extreme morphologic pre-
ferred orientation or crystallographic preferred
orientation that was visible using the accessory
gypsum plate were fairly common in the gneisses
H A R V E Y B L A T2'
examined and these types of textures are prob-
ably diagnostic of metamorphic rocks (figs. 17A,
B). Intercrystalline textures within polycrystal-
line fragments were varied, ranging from fairly
straight to highly sutured (fig. 18).
Almost four-fifths (78%) of all the quartz
released to sediments from the disintegrated
gneisses is of the polycrystalline variety. As was
the case with the disintegrated massive plutonic
rocks, the percentage of polycrystalline quartz
in the total quartz of gneisses is size dependent,
averaging 96 percent of the very coarse sand-
1.0 sized quartz, 88 percent of the coarse sand-sized
quartz, 72 percent of medium grained quartz,
44 percent of fine quartz, and 21 percent of very
tween the amounts of polycrystalline quartz
released in each size grade from quartz-bearlng
gneisses and massive plutonic rocks? Once
+
0.01
again, if we can assume equal areas of exposure
and total quartz content for the two rock groups,
the data indicates that for each polycrystalline
quartz grain in each size grade released from
granitoid rocks, gneisses yield 2.4 in the granular
gravel size, 1.2 in the very coarse sand size, 1.5
in the coarse sand size, 2.3 in the medium sand,
4.2 in the fine sand, and 16.8 in the very fine
sand size. At least for the coarser sand sizes, it
is clear that the common assumption that poly-
crystalline quartz in a sandstone is good evidence
of metamorphic provenance is unjustified. For
equal areas of exposure, gneisses yield only
slightly more polycrystalline quartz in the
coarser sand sizes than do massive plutonic rocks.
Thus, in polycrystalline quartz grains, the only
criteria of metamorphic origin which appear to
be valid are fineness of polycrystallinity, mor-
phologic elongation and preferred orientation of
the c-axes of the individual crystals in the quartz
fragment, and bimodality of quartz grain size
within polycrystalline quartz fragments.
SCHISTS
Total Quartz
As a result of the small number of samples of
disintegrated schists that were examined (6)
the data pertaining to the size distributions and
internal structures of quartz grains yielded by
these rocks could be no more than suggestive at
best.
However, the 6 schists examined spanned the
complete range of regional metamorphic facies.
Two contained sillimanite, one contained horn-
blende, one stilpnomelane, one clinozoisite, and
one contained both epidote and chlorite. In ad-
dition to the handicap of small number of sam-
ples, the detritus obtained contains 4 to 6 percent
silt-sized fragments of undetermined mineralogy
as well as a great deal of very fine sand. As it
seems certain that most silt and some very fine
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF C L A S T I C Q U A R T Z G R A I N S 415

DISINTEGRATED GNEISSES

GRANULAR V.COARSE COARSE MEDIUM FINE VERY FINE

GRAVEL SAND SAND SAND SAND SAND
(37 GRAINS) (157 GRAINS) (612 GRAINS) (516 GRAINS) (303 GRAINS) (77 GRAINS)

~OO

I00
m.
90 m
tD
ro

Z
tD
70 z~
0
/1
//
77
//
// //
60 // / / //
//
m
f¢ //
0 // //
,50 // //
//
l- //
//
Z //
at/
40 ~/ / //
// N
// //
gE // /1"
l.U //
Q. //
//
z/
//
//
Q //
zo ~ ii '/
'/
,/

V///4 ,.

tt3 03 rO r o
uD o ) r o rO
N~6^

NUMBER OF CRYSTALS IN POLYCRYSTALLINE QUARTZ GRAINS

FIG, 16.--Histogram of the number of quartz crystals contained in each grain size of
polycrystalLine quartz fragment in disintegrated gneisses.

sand have been winnowed from the sediment with internal structure can only be generalized.
prior to the time the samples were obtained, the Mean sample size of the six disintegrated
size frequency parameters and their correlation schistsexamined was 137 grs. (range 101-188) ;the

A B
Fro. 17 (A) Polycrystalline quartz grain, gneiss detritus, very coarse sand fraction, showing strongly sutured
intercrystal boundaries, elongation of contained quartz crystals, and bimodal size distribution of these
crystals. (B) Portion of a polycrystalline quartz grain from gneiss detritus, coarse sand fraction, showing strongly
sutured intercrystal boundaries and superb morphologic orientation of contained quartz crystals.
416 HARVEY BLATT

FIG. 18.--Sub-equant polycrystalline quartz grain in gneiss detritus, very. coarse sand
fraction, showing both straight and sutured intererystal boundaries.

amount of quartz in the -2cb to .-p4~ size inter-

val averaged 19 grs. (range 12-23).
The size distribution of total quartz from
c
ta schists (fig. 19) is more obviously bimodal than
o
ta was the analogous curve for gneisses or massive
t~
27. I0 plutonic rocks; but, as before, the bimodal char-
acter results from the mixing of two populations,
monocrystalline quartz and polycrystalline
g quartz. The average grain of quartz from the
m schists examined is only 0.44 mm in size, as com-
I¢ pared to the mean size of 0.72 mm obtained from
both gneiss detritus and grus. Were it not for
the effect of winnowing at the sample site, quartz
from the schists examined would be still finer in
. / mean size. Qualitatively, the relative fineness of
schist quartz seems quite reasonable, as schis-
BASED ON
B~ - 6 SAMPLES-- ~' tose rocks are generally megascopically finer
grained than either massive plutonic rocks or
gneisses. It is generally recognized that there is
a large increase in the size of the quartz grains
2= / i MEAN = +1.20 ¢1
STANDARD DEVIATION
= 1.34~
during the transition from shale to phyllite to
schist, but it is not until the latter stages of this
~" / SKEWNESS = -I- 0.08 development that the quartz grains attain sand
•_ / KURTOSIS = 0,77 size (.062 ram).
/ Monocrysta[line Quartz
-2 -I 0 I Z 5 4
Monocrystalline quartz forms 39 percent of
the total quartz from the schists and, as winnow-
FIG. 19.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency
curve of the distribution of total quartz in disinte- ing would remove largely monocrystalline grains
grated schists. (polycrystalline grains are coarser), the mean
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF CLASTIC QUARTZ G R A I N S 417
percentage of this q u a r t z type released from TABLE &--Summary of frequency distributions of
schists m a y be as high as 50 percent. Figure 20 degrees of undulatory extinction in monocrystalline
~uartz grains of medium sand size in five
shows t h e size distribution of monocrystalline disintegrated schists
quartz grains in the average sample. T h e very
large negative skewness of the d i s t r i b u t i o n prob- Sample M~ ~'[ Ski
ably reflects the effect of winnowing of the silt
and very fine sand sizes. Once again, bimodality
is e v i d e n t and results from the mixing of two
62
71
64
2.6 °
3.7 °
4.1 °
1.60
1.8 °

2.5 °
+ .24
+ .27
+ .54
populations: relatively coarse u n d u l a t o r y quartz 75 4.6 ° 2.5 ° + .24
and finer n o n - u n d u l a t o r y quartz. 65 6.0 ° 2.9 ° +.58
B l a t t and Christie (1963, p. 568) found t h a t 4.0 ° 2.3 ° + .37
the percentage of n o n - u n d u l a t o r y grains a m o n g
single crystals of quartz in 21 schists averaged
range (cf. fig. 20), the present d a t a correspond
22 percent, s o m e w h a t higher t h a n the value of 13 well with the d a t a from the earlier s t u d y 21
percent o b t a i n e d from e x a m i n a t i o n of undis- u n d i s i n t e g r a t e d schists from widespread local-
integrated massive plutonic rocks. I t is now evi- ities.
dent t h a t this difference in percentage was due M e a s u r e m e n t s were made of t h e degree of
to the difference in m e a n q u a r t z grain size be- u n d u l a t o r y extinction in a total of 126 medium
tween these two types of rocks. T h e finer the
sand-sized monocrystalline quartz grains from
grain size, the higher the percentage of non- five disintegrated schists. T h e results of these
u n d u l a t o r y quartz among monocrystalline m e a s u r e m e n t s are shown in t a b l e 3 a n d figure 21.
quartz grains. In t h e present study, the a m o u n t The degree of u n d u l a t o r y extinction in mono-
of n o n - u n d u l a t o r y q u a r t z is 0.0 percent in coarse crystalline quartz grains derived from schists is
grained q u a r t z sand, 15 percent in medium almost identical to the values o b t a i n e d in q u a r t z
grained quartz sand, 25 percent in fine grained
from massive plutonic rocks. (Compare tables
quartz sand, and 54 percent in very fine grained 2 and 3.)
quartz sand. As the average single crystal of
q u a r t z in schists is probably in the fine sand

~7

33.5
~30

I 20
19 7 ~ f14

Io
,, 23
~f/J
!

/
0.5
9S j /
BASED ON
i

/
- 6 SAMPLES - J
/
/ /
/
f MEA
=N +2.06J
STANDARD DEVIATION
/
¢

/ "
: I.II I
SKEWNESS = - 0 . 4 2 /
KURTOSIS = 0.72 0 2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 16
_ I I
-I 0 J 2 3 4 Degree of undulotory extinction

FIG. 21.--Histogram and cumulative frequency

FIG. 20.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency curve of the degree of undulatory extinction in me-
curve 'of the distribution of monocrystalline quartz dium sand-slzed monocrystalline quartz grains in dis-
grains in disintegrated schists. integrated schists.
418
50
~ 40
g quartz aggregates contributed to sediments will
L~ 33.7
o. 30
~ 2o
w
Io
i /
95
BASED ON
- 6 SAMPLES--
I //
= f
i
/ MEAN = + 0.85
STANDARD DEVIATION
/ = 138 ¢f
/ SKEWNESS
KURTOSIS
= 4" 0.16
= 0.90
-2
/
-I 6 i
I
2 3
FIG. 22.--Histogram and cumulative size frequency,
curve of the distribution of polycrystalline quartz
grains in disintegrated schists.
Within the limits of measurement of this angle
using a universal stage, both mean and standard
deviation are identical for grains derived from
the two groups of rocks. The skewnesses of alI
five of the distributions of schistose quartz
grains are strongly positive. This was also true
of 4 of the 5 distributions obtained from grains
derived from the massive plutonic rocks.
Polycrystalline Quartz
The size distribution of polyerystalllne quartz
grains in disintegrated schists (fig. 22) has a
mean of +0.85q~ (coarse sand) and a standard
deviation of 1.18~. The distribution has a posi-
tive skewness that may, at least in part, result
from the effect of the lack of thin-sections in the
-3q~ to -2q~ size range, as discussed earlier. As
the polycrystalline grains are coarse, winnowing
can be disregarded as a factor modifying the fre-
quency distribution. Polycrystalline quartz
grains from schists are only one-half the size of
those from disintegrated massive plutonic rocks
(0.55 mm as opposed to 1.01 ram) and this dif-
ference seems qualitatively correct, as thin sec-
tions of undisintegrated rocks of these two types
reveal that isolated groups of quartz grains in
schists are considerably smaller size than are
such groups in massive plutonic rocks. In gneis-
HARI'EY BLA TT
ses, of course, the quartz occurs in bands the
lengths of which are measured in centimeters.
In such rocks the size of the polycrystalline
be controlled almost entirely by the disintegra-
tion process and cannot be estimated by exami-
nation of the fresh rock.
Comparison of the mean size of monocrys-
talline quartz from schists (0.24 mm) with that
of the polycrysta[line grains (0.55 ram) reveals
that the polycrystalline grains are, on the aver-
age, 2.3 times as large. This ratio is similar to
i.4
t h a t of grainitoid quartz (2.1) and, therefore,
polycrystalline quartz from schists should also
be composed of relatively few quartz crystals
as compared to polycrystalline quartz in the
same size range derived from gneisses. Com-
parison of figure 23 with the analogous histo-
grams for massive plutonic rocks (fig. 11) and
gneisses (fig. 16) shows that this is indeed the
case. Two of the 6 disintegrated schists ex-
amined contained a small but significant pro-
portion of extremely fine-grained recrystallized
quartz aggregates (figs. 24A, By. These aggre-
I 4
gates are not gradationa[ with coarser polycrys-
talline quartz aggregates in size of contained
quartz crystals. The aggregates formed of the
extremely fine-grained quartz define a secondary
mode in all grain size ranges shown in figure 23.
The studies of polycrystalline quartz frag-
ments thus indicate that although these grains
are released from gneisses and massive plutonic
rocks with a coarser mean size than from schists,
the number of quartz crystals forming poly-
crystalline quartz grains is much larger in gneis-
sic quartz than in massive plutonie or schistose
quartz. Intercrystalline contacts between quartz
crystal units in the polycrystalline quartz of
the disintegrated shcists examined may be
either straight to slightly curved or sutured, as
is also the case in massive plutonic rocks and
gneisses. As only 6 disintegrated schists were
examined the relative abundances of these types
cannot be evaluated.
Polyerystalline quartz averages 61 percent of
the total quartz in the disintegrated schists ex-
amined but because of winnowing of the finer
grained monocrystalline grains, this figure may
be somewhat too large. As was the case in mas-
sive plutonic rocks and gneisses, the proportion
of polycrystalline quartz in total quartz of dis-
integrated schists is size dependent. In the five
size grades from very coarse sand through very
fine sand, the percentage decreases sequentially
from 84 through 82, 66, 42, to 16. When com-
paring size for size these values are quite similar
to those obtained from disintegrated gneisses
but are greatly different from those from disin-
tegrated massive plutonic rocks.
 ORIGINAL C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF CLASTIC QUARTZ G R A I N S 419

DISINTEGRATED SCHISTS
GRANULAR V. COARSE COARSE MEDIUM FINE VERY FINE
GRAVEL SAND SAND SAND SAND SAND
(13 GRAINS} {89 GRAINS) (270 GRAINS) (319 GRAINS) {192 GRAINS} (20 GRAINS)

I00
q
90 o. ~0
O) 7
r--
or) 8O ~7
Z /
1,3
/
E 70
/
/
/.
Li.
60 LJ
0 ,/ /, /.
I-
5O //
/
z
LO ,/ 11
4O // ,j
0 // 7
(Z: // /
/ ,/
LU //
D. 3O //
,/

"/
20
//

I0
,(,
0 tO 0'~ i"O I¢)

~o_ ~6'OA N~A N~O_A

NUMBER OF CRYSTALS IN POLYCRYSTALLINE QUARTZ GRAINS

FIG. 23.--Histogram of the number of quartz crystals contained in each grain size of
polycrystalline quartz fragment in disintegrated schists.

A B
Fio. 24.---(A) Polycrystalline quartz grain in schist detritus, medium sand fraction, showing extreme inter-
crystal suturing, moderate degree of elongation of contained quartz crystals, and moderately developed bimodal
size distribution of contained quartz crystals. (B) Polycrystalline quartz grain schist detritus, medium sand
fraction, showing elongation and superb bimodal size distribution of contained quartz crystals. Note also in-
tensely sutured intercrystal boundaries.
420 HARVEY
CONCLUSIONS
In view of the data obtained in this study, are
there any features of quartz grains in sandstones
that appear to be useful in determining whether
such grains were originally derived from a grani-
toid rock, a gneiss, or a schist? The following
features seem to be useful for this purpose.
(1) For any grain size, polycrystalline quartz
from gneisses will be more finely polycrystal-
line than will grains from massive plutonic rocks.
For example, if a medium sand-sized polycrys-
talline quartz grain in a sandstone is formed of
six or more apparently different crystals it is
very likely to have been derived from a foliated
metamorphic rocks if formed of less than six crys-
tals it probably had its origin in a massive plu-
tonic rock (compare figs. 24A, B with 2A, B, and
4).
(2) Many polycrystalline quartz grains from
foliated rocks are formed of somewhat elon-
gated quartz crystals (figs. 17A, B) and the
polycrystalline fragment itself may appear
elongated in thin-section. (However, it may be
disc-shaped in three dimensions.) A substantial
proportion of polycrystalline quartz released
from the massive plutonic rocks examined also
was somewhat elongate (compare fig. 17A with
fig. 4). Therefore, moderate degrees of grain
elongation are not a reliable criterion of meta-
morphic origin. Extreme grain elongation was
FIG. 25.--Monocrystalline quartz grains, massive plutonic detritus, fine sand fraction,
showing arrowhead or elongate sliver shapes.
BLA TT
seen less commonly in the rocks examined, but
this feature appears to be diagnostic of meta-
morphic origin. Also, in metamorphic quartz,
sometimes the individual crystals forming the
larger grain may show a preferred crystallo-
graphic orientation upon insertion of a gypsum
plate. However, many well-developed preferred
crystallographic orientations of crystal aggre-
gates cannot be detected by this procedure.
There is no necessary correlation between the
presence of morphological elongation and crys-
tallographlc orientation, either in monocrys-
talline quartz grains or in polycrystalline ag-
gregates.
Suturing of grain boundaries between crystals
in a polyccrystalline quartz grain is, by itself,
unreliable as an indicator of provenance. Sutur-
ing commonly accompanies fine polycrystal-
linity, shape lineation, and preferred crystal-
lographic orientation in metamorphic quartz;
but intercrystalline suturing is also common in
polycrystalline quartz from massive plutonic
rocks.
(3) A feature apparently peculiar to meta-
morphic polycrystalline quartz grains is the
presence of two distinctly different sizes of
quartz crystals within a grain (figs. 17A, 24A,
B). This seems to represent an arrested stage in
the recrystallization of a quartz aggregate, the
smaller crystals being the newly developing ones.
 O R I G I N A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF C L A S T I C Q U A R T Z G R A I N S 421

I'hG. 26.--Lithic arkose, Mt. Tom, Massachusetts, Triassic, showing polycrystalline quartz grain very prob-
ably derived from a foliated metamorphic rock and many sliver-shaped monocrystalline quartz grains of fine
sand size. Note similar appearance of theses slivers to those in freshly disintegrated detritus (fig. 25).

This feature has been produced experimentally
and such grains were frequently observed in
metamorphic detritus in the present stud)'.
(4) Some authors assume a monolithologic
source area for a sandstone. Under such ex-
tremely uncommon conditions, the massive or
foliated character of tile igneous a n d / o r meta-
morphic rocks exposed could be determined by
the proportions of polycrystalline quartz in
total quartz within each size grade.
It is significant that the appearance of the ag-
gregate of quartz grains at the time of release
into the sedimentary cycle bears little resem-
blance to the appearance of quartz grains in
many sandstones in the geologic record.
(1) Polycrystalline quartz grains at the time
of release from a source terrain of granites,
gneisses, and schists, form 50 to 90 perrent of
coarse sand-sized quartz, 30 to 70 percent of
medium sand-aized quartz, and 15 to 45 percent
of line sand-sized quartz. Examination of
twenty-four lithic and feldspathic sandstones
by Blatt and Christie (t963, p. 577) indicates
that mineralogically immature sediments (those
containing more than 10 percent feldspar and
unstable rock fragments) contain an average of
only 7 percent of polycrystalllne quartz in their
total quartz (standard d e v i a t i o n = 6 percent)
and quartz arenites average only 2 percent of
polycrystalline quartz.
(2) In the present study it was found that
36 percnet of the total quartz from massive plu-
tonic rocks, 40 percent of that from gneisses,
and 18 percent of that from schists occurs in the
1-4 mm size range (figs. 3, 12, 19). There ap-
pears to be little doubt that grains of this size
rarely are present in such abundance in elastic
deposits in which the mean grain size lies in the
1-4 mm range, hence granular gravels are
typically bimodal (Pittijohn, 1957, p. 47-51).
The modal size of elastic rocks rarely falls
within this range.
(3) Blatt and Christie (1963, p. 571) have
pointed out that multicycle sands contain
significantly more non-undulatory quartz among
their monocrystalline quartz grains than do less
mineralogically mature sands. The present study
indicates that the less mature sands contain
proportions of non-undulatory quartz consistent
with the proportions released from source rocks,
considered collectively. This proportion is 10
to 15 percent of monocrystalline quartz in the
medium sand and coarser sizes.
(4) Qualitatively, it is apparent that a much
higher proportion of quartz is elongate in freshly
distintegrated igneous and metamorphic detri-
tus and in mineraloglcally immature sands than
in mineralogically mature sands such as the St.
Peter, Dakota, etc., (compare figs. 24, 4, and 26
with fig. 27).
422 HARVEY BLATT

FIo. 27.--Fine sand-sized fraction of St. Peter sand, Ottawa, Illinois, Ordovician, showing dominance of
sub-equant grain shapes and relative lack of elongate slivers such as are common in freshly disintegrated igne-
ous and metamorphic rocks and ill mlneralogically immature sandstones. Probably the sliver-shapes fracture
readily and form part of the silt-sized quartz in shales and mudstones.

In my opinion, the most likely process that
will explain these dissimilarities between the
quartz at the time of release from source rocks
and quartz as seen in many sandstones is size
reduction. Probably the polycrystalline grains
are reduced in size by fracture along quartz
crystal boundaries. The relatively small amount
of this type of quarz in most sandstones, even
those rich in unstable lithic fragments or feld-
spar, suggests that fracture may occur fairly
rapidly in the sedimentary environment. Per-
haps much disaggregation of pure quartz
rock fragments occurs in the soil as has been sug-
gested by Raeside (1959, p. 496). Using field
evidence and chemical analyses, Dorr (1964)
has documented extensive late Cenozoic solu-
tion of fine grained quartz from Precambrian
quartz-hematite units in several areas of Minas
GerMs, Brazil. Ruckmick (1963) has described
similar occurrences in southeastern Venezuela.
Reed, et el. (1963) have described solution fea-
tures of probable Quaterna~, age in quartzite
in western North Carolina. I was unable to dis-
cover any published petrographic studies of this
process, but the field evidence described by the
writers noted above appears quite convincing.
Monocrystalline quartz grains, when newly
released from igneous or metamorphic rocks,
frequently contain one or more hairline fractures
which are visible in thin section. Such grains are
very likely to break early in the transportation
process. A large proportion of monocrystalline
grains contain planes of bubble inclusions, and
these planes of structural weakness may cause
size reduction as has been suggested by Bowen
(1955), Davies and Rees (1946, p. 93) and Moss
(1966). Fracture may also occur along zones of
undulatory extinction (Borg, et al., 1960, p. 175;
Raeside, 1959, p. 495); or parallel to the c-axis
or rhombohedra because of weaker bonding
forces in these directions within the quartz
crystal structure (Bloss, 1957, p. 221; Borg and
Maxwell, 1956, p. 74; Anderson, 1945, p. 426;
Ingerson and Ramisch, 1942; Fairbairn, 1939,
p. 365; Griggs and Bell, 1938, p. 1740). Ander-
son (1945, p. 426) and Fairbairn (1939, p. 365)
suggested preferential fracture perpendicular to
the c-axis of quartz. Bloss and Gibbs (1963)
report that {i122}, a second order trigonal pyr-
amid, is second only to the r and z rhombohedra
as the main cleavage in quartz. Several other
more obscure "cleavages" which have been re-
ported in the literature are tabulated by Bloss
and Gibbs (p. 822).
An alternative possibility for achieving size
reduction of relatively unstable monocrystal-
line undulatory quartz grains is through chemical
activity during soil formation, a process which
 ORIGINAL CHARACTERISil'ICS OF C L A S T I C QUART7 GRAINS 423

has not received the attention by sedimentolo-
gists which it deserves. The significance of this
process has been suggested by Oertel, 1958, p.
127-129; Carroll, 1952, p. 793; Wahlstrom, 1948,
p. 1180; Brock, 1943, p. 728; Goldich, 1938, p.
35; (;alloway, 1919, p. 279; Sorby, 1880, p. 48.
H u m b e r t (1948, p. 283, 286) states t h a t he
has observed in thin-section solution of quartz
grains in granitoid rock under lateritic weather-
ing conditions in Siam and New Guinea.
The a m o u n t of size reduction suggested by
the d a t a obtained in this study is in marked con-
trast to the views of Kuenen (1959a, 1959b,
1960). On the basis of the great difficulty in ob-
taining significant size reduction of coarse
grained sand and granule-sized quartz particles
during experimental abrasion studies, Kuenen
(1959b, p. 30) concluded t h a t " . . . most grains
survive a n u m b e r of successive sedimentation
cycles without more than a few precent loss in
weight" and that " . . . the most likely manner
in which sedimentary quartz could disappear is
by granitization and m e t a m o r p h i s m . " Smalley
(1966) concurred with Kuenen based on theo-
retical analysis of the quartz crystal structure.
Moss (1966, p. 128) concluded t h a t although
breakage of quartz grains is i m p o r t a n t during
the disintegration of igneous and metamorphic
rocks, "All evidence suggests that the breakage
of unsound quartz becomes negligible when this
material is virtually all less than 2 mm in dia-
meter . . . . "
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some of the data upon which this paper is
based are taken from a Ph.D. dissertation sub-
mitted to the University of California at Los
Angeles in 1963. The writer is indebted to Pro-
fessor J. M. Christie, who supervised the dis-
sertation, for offering helpful suggestions and
advice through the course of t h a t work. The
dissertation research was in part supported by a
Penrose Bequest G r a n t from the Geological
Society of America. J. C. de Gross6 prepared the
thin sections used in the investigation. Draftings
were made by Mrs. Penny Scrutchin and Robert
Rogers.
Vigorous discussions with Professor R. L. Folk
of the University of Texas have contributed to
some ot the views in this paper but, of course, he
does not necessarily subscribe to all of its con-
clusions.
I would like to t h a n k the organizations and
persons noted above for their support of and in-
terest in the problems discussed in the paper.

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