STRUCTURE o f

METAMORPHIC
ROCKS
By- Essence of Geology
 METAMORPHIC

ROCKS
Metamorphic rocks are defined as the rocks those have formed through the processes
of metamorphism on the pre existing rocks ( i.e. primary rocks) under the effect of
changing temperature, pressure and chemically active fluid.
The phenomena through which the metamorphic rocks are formed is called as
Metamorphism. Thus metamorphism is a process involving changes in mineral
composition and/or microstructure of a rock, dominantly in solid state under the effect
of temperature, pressure and chemically active fluid.

Slate Phyllite
 TEXTURE and STRUCTURE
 Textures are small scale features in
a rock that are penetrative, which
means that the texture occurs
virtually all the rock bodies at
microscopic scale.
 Texture of metamorphic rocks
depends on the shape of the
minerals, their modes of growth
and mutual arrangement.
 Structure is a term used for large-
scale features that occur on the
hand sample, outcrop or even
regional scale.
 Structure of a metamorphic
rock
depends on the
interrelationsof various
within the
same
Texturesrock unit and are
dominated by the directive forces
frequently
due to the unequal pressure.
 FOLIATION and LINEATION

• Any penetrative set of more or less • Any penetrative set of more or

parallel surfaces or we can say any less parallel lines or we
planar fabric element can be can say a linear fabric
termed as FOLIATION.
element can be termed as
LINEATION.
 TYPES o f
FOLIATIO
N
According to Turner and Weiss(1963),

a) Compositional layering
b) Preferred orientation of platy
minerals.
c) Shape of deformed grains.
d) Grain size variation.
e) Preferred orientation of platy minerals
in a matrix without preferred
orientation.
f) Preferred orientation of
lenticular
mineral aggregates.
g) Preferred orientation of fractures.
Types o f lineation

a) Preferred orientation of
elongated mineral
aggregates
b) Preferred orientation of
elongate minerals
c) Lineation defined by
platy
minerals
d) Fold axes (especially of
crenulations)
e) Intersecting planar
elements
 CATACLASTIC
STRUCTURE
 Its produced under stress and in absence of high temperature, whereby rocks are
subjected to shearing and fragmentation. Only the durable minerals partly survive the
crushing force and the less durable ones are powdered. Thus, when the resistant
minerals and rock fragments stand out in pseudoporphyritic manner in the finer
materials, its known as ‘porphyroclastic structure’.
 When the rocks are highly crushed into fine grained rocks, they are called MYLONITES.
 Since all these structures are formed due to cataclasis, they are, as a whole, known
as
CATACLASTIC STRUCTURE.
 SCHISTOSE
STRUCTURE

 One of the most obvious structural features of most of the

metamorphic rocks is the alignment of platy or flaky
minerals in parallel layers. The rock with schistose
structure is made up of broadly parallel or sub-parallel
layers of flaky, platy or rod-like minerals making it very
weak in the direction of parallelism.
 GNEISSOSE
STRUCTURE

Biotite Gneiss from

Norway

In this structure, bands or folia of platy or flaky minerals

alternate with those of equidimensional and granular minerals.
These bands generally are of contrasting colors, composition and
texture.
Presence of gneissose structure is an indication of advance
degree of metamorphism under combined action of high
temperature, pressure and active participation of fluids .
 Garnet Gneiss

Gneissic structure in a
rock from Karelia
MACULOSE
STRUCTURE  This is kind of
a that is
structure
characterised by
a spotted appearance
of the rock
that may be caused
due to the formation
of large sized crystals
(porphyroblasts)
within an otherwise
fine grained rock.
This structure is
a typical product
of thermal
(contact)
metamorphism and
results generally due to
incomplete
recrystallisation of
the constituent
 An Augen structure in a
rock found in Lake Alamo,
Arizona

Another very similar kind of structure shown by the

metamorphic rocks is Augen Structure. This structure is typical
of metamorphic rocks in which the effect of crushing under
pressure is clearly associated with recrystallisation. In this
structure some of the resistant minerals get deformed into thin ,
lenticular, lens like shapes giving a characteristic appearance to
the rock.
 SLATY
STRUCTURE

 Its also termed as slaty cleavage .

 This structure commonly develops in shale that
undergone
slight metamorphism.
 Rocks showing a slaty structure are very fine
grained
 conclusion
The study of structure and texture of the metamorphic rocks is a vast topic. Small scale
structures lead to the formation of large sized structure, or we can say texture lead to
the formation of the overall structure of the rock, hence study of texture is very
important to understand the structure of the rock.
THANK
YOU