Metamorphic Rock

Metamorphic Rocks
The word "Metamorphism" comes from the Greek: meta =
after, morph = form, so metamorphism means the after form.

Rocks that are formed by heat and/or pressure

The original rock that has undergone metamorphism is called

the protolith. Protolith can be any type of rock and sometimes
the changes in texture and mineralogy are so dramatic that is
difficult to distinguish what the protolith was.

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Metamorphic rocks are formed by:

•Regional metamorphism
• Involves mostly pressure

•Contact metamorphism
• Involves mostly heat

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Metamorphism by Pressure(Regional)
Pressure often causes realignment of
intergrown mineral crystals

Called banding Or foliation

These have a planar foliation caused by the

preferred orientation (alignment) of minerals
and formed under differential stress.
They have a significant amount of sheet silicate
(platy minerals and are classified by
composition, grain size, and foliation type.
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Shale
 Banding

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 Foliation

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Regional Metamorphism
• Mountain building activity
• Involves large areas

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 Large-scale
metamorphism

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 Regional metamorphism beneath a
mountain range resulting from
continent-continent collision. Arrows
show the forces due to the collision.
Dashed lines represent temperatures that
would exist given a geothermal gradient
of 30 ºC/km. A sequence of foliated
metamorphic rocks of increasing
metamorphic grade forms at increasing
depths within the mountains.

The Himalaya range is an example of where regional

metamorphism is happening because two continents are
colliding
 Regional Metamorphic can form in various place

At subduction zones, where ocean lithosphere is forced down

At an oceanic spreading ridge, recently formed oceanic crust
into the hot mantle, there is a unique combination of relatively
of gabbro and basalt is slowly moving away from the plate
low temperatures and very high pressures. The high pressures
boundary. Water within the crust is forced to rise in the area
are to be expected, given the force of collision between tectonic
close to the source of volcanic heat, drawing in more water
plates, and the increasing lithostatic pressure as the subducting
from further away.
slab is forced deeper and deeper into the mantle.
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Metamorphism by Heat (Contact)
Contact Metamorphism occurs when magma
comes into contact with an existing rock body.
When this happens, the temperature of the existing
rocks rises and is also infiltrated with the magma
fluid. The area affected by magma contact is
usually small, ranging from 1 km to 10 km.
Contact metamorphism produces rocks like
marble, quartzite, and horns that are non-
foliated(rocks without any cleavage)

NON-FOLIATED metamorphic rocks do not display layers. Rather, they are massive structures
with no obvious banding. The mineral grains grow and rearrange, but they don’t form layers.

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Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks

Non-foliated rocks lack a planar fabric . Absence of foliation

possible for several reasons:

• Rock not subjected to differential stress.

• Dominance of equant minerals (like quartz, feldspar, and

garnet).

• Absence of platy minerals (sheet silicates).

Amphibolite

These rocks are dark colored rocks with amphibole (usually

hornblende) as their major mineral. They are usually poorly
foliated and form at intermediate to high grades of metamorphism
of basaltic or gabbroic protoliths.
 Any type of magma body can lead to
contact metamorphism, from a thin dyke to
a large stock. The type and intensity of the
metamorphism, and width of the
metamorphic aureole that develops around
the magma body, will depend on a number
of factors, including the type of country
rock, the temperature of the intruding
body, the size of the body, and the volatile
compounds within the body

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Contact
Metamorphism

Contact metamorphism
(yellow rind) around a high-
level crustal magma chamber,
and regional metamorphism in
a volcanic-arc related
mountain range. Dashed lines
show isotherms.

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 Increasing degrees of metamorphism

Rocks
melt
in
this
range

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 Great heat and pressure

limestone marble
(small crystals) (large crystals)

In this example the mineral composition

stays the same

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 shale slate
In this example the minerals in shale
actually change into other
minerals during metamorphosis

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 •Some metamorphic rocks
can form from several
different parent rocks
• Ex. Gneiss may form from
sandstone, shale or granite

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 Where can you find this image?

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How to identify rocks
Interlocking crystals?
s no
ye

Igneous/metamorphic sedimentary

banding/foliation?

s no
ye

metamorphic igneous
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