Metamorphic Rock :,-

Rock, the original composition and texture of which

has been altered by heat and pressure deep within the
earth's crust. Metamorphism that is a result of both heat
and pressure is referred to as dynamothermal, or regional;
metamorphism produced by the heat of an intrusion of
igneous rock is termed thermal, or contact.
Four common varieties of metamorphic rock can be
traced to a parent sedimentary or igneous rock, because
rocks display varying degrees of metamorphism, depending
on how much heat and pressure they have endured. Thus,
shale is metamorphosed to slate in a low-temperature
environment, but if heated to temperatures high enough for
its clay minerals to recrystallize as mica flakes, shale
becomes metamorphosed into a phyllite. At even higher
temperatures and pressures, shale and siltstone completely
recrystallize, forming schist or gneiss, rocks in which the
alignment of mica flakes produces a laminated texture
called foliation. In schist, the light-colored minerals (mainly
quartz and feldspar) are evenly distributed among the dark-
colored micas; gneiss, on the other hand, displays distinctive
color banding. Among the other minerals commonly formed
by metamorphic recrystallization, aluminum silicates such
as andalusite, sillimanite, and kyanite are pervasive enough
to be considered diagnostic.
Among the nonfoliated metamorphic rocks, quartzite
and marble are the most common. Quartzite is typically a
tough, hard, light-colored rock in which all the sand grains
of a sandstone or siltstone have been recrystallized into a
fabric of interlocking quartz grains. Marble is a softer, more
brittle, varicolored rock in which the dolomite or calcite of
the parent sedimentary material has been entirely
recrystallized.

Metamorphic rock: -
Rock altered in structure and composition by pressure,
heat, or chemically active fluids after original formation. (If
heat is sufficient to melt the original rock, technically it
becomes an igneous rock upon cooling.) The term was coined
in 1833 by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell (1797- 1875). The
mineral assemblage present in a metamorphic rock depends on
the composition of the starting material (which may be
sedimentary or igneous) and the temperature and pressure
conditions to which it is subjected. There are two main types
of metamorphism. Thermal metamorphism, or contact
metamorphism, is brought about by the baking of solid rocks
in the vicinity of an igneous intrusion (molten rock, or
magma, in a crack in the Earth's crust). It is responsible, for
example, for the conversion of limestone to marble. Regional
metamorphism results from the heat and intense pressures
associated with the movements and collision of tectonic
plates. It brings about the conversion of shale to slate.