Metamorphic Textures

Metamorphic rocks are generally classified as;

1) Foliated Rocks:
Parallel arrangement with wavy-like appearance, resulting from crystals oriented in
long axes perpendicular to the pressure.
2) Non-Foliated Rocks:
Crystals not oriented with long axes in one direction.
Foliated Rocks Include:
1) Slate
Forms from low-grade metamorphism of shale.
Very fine-grained foliated rock. but foliation is not visible.
Has excellent rock cleavage and splits easily. This property makes slate useful for tiles .
Form from low-grade metamorphism of shale.Slate rocks have slaty texture
2) Phyllite
Forms from intermediate-grade metamorphism of slate.
Fine-grained foliated rock, with visible foliation.
New minerals are often formed. Phyllite rocks have phyllitic texture
Spotted phyllite is contain spots which shows the beginning of porphyroblast formation.
3) Schist
Forms from high-grade metamorphism of phyllite.
Medium to coarse-grained foliated rock, These rocks are platy
flakes or slabs,with distinct foliation.
New minerals are often formed. For example, Garnet.
Schist rocks have schistosity texture

and can be split into

4) Gneiss
Forms from high-grade metamorphism of schist.
Coarse-grained foliated rock, with distinct foliation.
These rocks display elongated and granular minerals which give the rock a dark and light
banded appearance.
Most common minerals
are quartz and feldspar.
Gneiss rocks have gneissosity texture
Non - Foliated Rocks Include:
5) Marble
Coarse crystalline network of calcite grains that form as a result of recrystallization. The
parent rock of marble is Limestone.
During recrystallization of limestone, bedding, fossils, and other sedimentary features are
destroyed.
Marble is used for statues and covering wall and floor te building.
Marble rocks have granoblastic texture

6) Quartzite
Forms when silica sand grains and silica cement recrystallize forming a coarse grained
network of silica. The parent rock of quartzite is quartz sandstone.
Moderate to high-grade metamorphism fuses the sand grains. Sometimes outlines of the
original grains may be seen, a feature called ghosting.
Quartzite is a very hard rock. Quartizite rocks have granoblastic texture

Orogenic Metamorphism and differential stress

Foliation (or Cleavage) and Lineation

s1 > s2 = s3 foliation and no lineation

s1 = s2 > s3 lineation and no foliation
s1 > s2 > s3 both foliation and lineation
Foliation:
General textures characterized by the parallel arrangement (distribution) of minerals
which include layering as in gniess and schistosity as in schist.
Lineation:
The parallel alignment o linear elements in the rock such as long prismatic grain of
hornblende
Porphyroblasts
Found occasionally in areas of both contact and regional metamorphism.
The metamorphic minerals in the porphyroblast grow large, but the
surrounding materials remain small.
The layers of schist around the garnet have deformed around it. The garnet grow
between the matrix crystals and pushed them aside, instead of replacing them.
This is evidence of migration of atoms and fluids during metyamorphism.

Poikiloblast:
It is a porphyroblast which contains numerous inclusion of one or more groundmass
minerals. This texture is similar to sieve texture.
Helicitic texture:
It is direction of an earlier foliation or bedding of the parent rocks ,which reflected in
curved lines of inclutions that are preserved within a porphyroblasts.In many cases
helicitic texture has S-shape which formed by rolling of porphyroblast during growth
by orogenic movement.
Cataclastic texture:
Sheared and crushed rock, which nature of original rock is recognizable by
undestroyed fragments.
Mylonite texture:
It is a texture formed as a result of extremely granulated and crushed rocks by intence
dynamic metamorphism, it has streaky and banded appearance.
Porphyroclast:
It is coarse, strained and broken large crystals in a finer-grained matrix.
Augen:
Thy are large porphyroclast in a finer-grained.