Metamorphism

Metamorphic rocks have had their appearance (texture and mineral composition) changed because of
intense heat and/or pressure.

Here is an example:

Metamorphic changes do not involve melting (higher temperatures are needed for that), nor any
change to the chemical composition of the rock. However, mineral grains (like quartz and clay) react
chemically with each other to form new minerals (like mica and garnet) and new rock textures.

What causes metamorphism of rocks?

Regional Metamorphism

More about Regional Metamorphism.

Contact Metamorphism
Contact

Marli Bryant Miller: www.marlimillerphoto.com

Contact Metamorphism (often called thermal metamorphism) happens when rock is heated up by an
intrusion of hot magma.

In this photo, the dark grey rock is an intrusion (a sill) between layers of a paler grey limestone. Just
above and below the intrusion, the limestone has been altered to form white marble.

Contact Metamorphism can occur on scales from a few millimetres either side of a small intrusion, to
several hundred metres around a large igneous body such as a batholith.

There may be several zones where different

metamorphic effects can be seen, depending on how hot the rock became (left).

Contact Metamorphism does not involve squashing of rock layers, so these rocks do not have foliated
textures like regionally metamorphosed rocks.

Regional

Regional metamorphism affects large volumes (regions) of rock, especially in the mountain chains that
form when continents collide. 

Regionally metamorphosed rocks usually have a squashed, or foliated appearance – examples include
slate, schist and gneiss (pronounced “nice”), formed by metamorphism of mudstones, and also marble
which is formed by metamorphism of limestone.

View an animation showing metamorphism.

The diagram below shows how mountains are built when continents collide.

Diagram from Lutgens & Tarbuck “Essentials of

Geology”, Prentice HallIn the “roots” of the mountain belt, rocks may be buried to depths of 20 km or
so. 

They get very hot (500oC or more) and so re-crystallise to form new minerals and textures.

Rocks metamorphosed at depth may later be pushed up along faults, bringing them closer to the
surface. 

As the mountains are eroded away by glaciers and rivers, these rocks become exposed for us to see.

Deformation & Metamorphism

Here are some multiple-choice questions to test your understanding:

1. The texture of a metamorphic rock like the one shown in the photo would be described as:

Animated

Compensated

Foliated
2. Movement along faults in the Earth’s crust causes:

Heatwaves

Thunderstorms

Earthquakes

3. Folds and thrusts usually form when the Earth’s crust undergoes:

Compression (squashing)

Tension (stretching)

Subsidence (sinking)

4. Metamorphic rocks rarely contain fossils because:

It is too hot for animals to survive

Re-crystallisation of the rock usually destroys fossils

Rocks are melted during metamorphism

5. When a rock is heated and re-crystallised close to an igneous intrusion, the effect is called:

Regional metamorphism

Contact metamorphism

Dislocation metamorphism

Metamorphic Rock
 

1. “Rocks that have formed by cooling of molten magma are called igneous rocks. All these rocks have
…………… textures.” The missing word is:

Crystalline

Fragmental

Rough

2. What property of granite makes it a good material to use for gravestones?

It contains several different minerals

It is hard and resistant to weathering

It is rough and can be used as an abrasive

3. What property of basalt makes it a good material to use for road surfaces?

It is hard and resistant to weathering

It is dark in colour

It can be polished to look attractive

4. What property of gabbro makes it a good material to use for worktops?

When broken it has a rough surface

 It contains several different minerals

It can be polished to look attractive

5. Igneous rocks like granite are often used for street paving and kerb stones in city centres because:

They are hard and do not wear away easily

They contain several different minerals

They can be polished to look attractive