answer: there are two main types of metamorphic rocks: those that are foliated because they have formed in an environment with either directed pressure or shear stress, and those that are not foliated because they have formed in an environment without directed pressure or relatively near the surface with very little pressure at all. some types of metamorphic rocks, such as quartzite and marble, which also form in directed-pressure situations, do not necessarily exhibit foliation because their minerals (quartz and calcite respectively) do not tend to show alignment there are two main types of metamorphic rocks: those that are foliated because they have formed in an environment with either directed pressure or shear stress, and those that are not foliated because they have formed in an environment without directed pressure or relatively near the surface with very little pressure at all. some types of metamorphic rocks, such as quartzite and marble, which also form in directed-pressure situations, do not necessarily exhibit foliation because their minerals (quartz and calcite respectively) do not tend to show alignment.
when a rock is squeezed under directed pressure during metamorphism it is likely to be deformed, and this can result in a textural change such that the minerals are elongated in the direction perpendicular to the main stress (figure 7.5). this contributes to the formation of foliation.
when a rock is both heated and squeezed during metamorphism, and the temperature change is enough for new minerals to form from existing ones, there is a likelihood that the new minerals will be forced to grow with their long axes perpendicular to the direction of squeezing. this is illustrated in figure 7.6, where the parent rock is shale, with bedding as shown. after both heating and squeezing, new minerals have formed within the rock, generally parallel to each other, and the original bedding has been largely obliterated.
figure 7.7 shows an example of this effect. this large boulder has bedding still visible as dark and light bands sloping steeply down to the right. the rock also has a strong slaty foliation, which is horizontal in this view, and has developed because the rock was being squeezed during metamorphism. the rock has split from bedrock along this foliation plane, and you can see that other weaknesses are present in the same orientation.
squeezing and heating alone (as shown in figure 7.5) and squeezing, heating, and formation of new minerals (as shown in figure 7.6) can contribute to foliation, but most foliation develops when new minerals are forced to grow perpendicular to the direction of greatest stress (figure 7.6). this effect is especially strong if the new minerals are platy like mica or elongated like amphibole. the mineral crystals don’t have to be large to produce foliation. slate, for example, is characterized by aligned flakes of mica that are too small to see.
the various types of foliated metamorphic rocks, listed in order of the grade or intensity of metamorphism and the type of foliation are slate, phyllite, schist, and gneiss (figure 7.8). as already noted, slate is formed from the low-grade metamorphism of shale, and has microscopic clay and mica crystals that have grown perpendicular to the stress. slate tends to break into flat sheets. phyllite is similar to slate, but has typically been heated to a higher temperature; the micas have grown larger and are visible as a sheen on the surface. where slate is typically planar, phyllite can form in wavy layers. in the formation of schist, the temperature has been hot enough so that individual mica crystals are visible, and other mineral crystals, such as quartz, feldspar, or garnet may also be visible. in gneiss, the minerals may have separated into bands of different colours. in the example shown in figure 7.8d, the dark bands are largely amphibole while the light-coloured bands are feldspar and quartz. most gneiss has little or no mica because it forms at temperatures higher than those under which micas are stable. unlike slate and phyllite, which typically only form from mudrock, schist, and especially gneiss, can form from a variety of parent rocks, including mudrock, sandstone, conglomerate, and a range of both volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks.
schist and gneiss can be named on the basis of important minerals that are present. for example a schist derived from basalt is typically rich in the mineral chlorite, so we call it chlorite schist. one derived from shale may be a muscovite-biotite schist, or just a mica schist, or if there are garnets present it might be mica-garnet schist. similarly, a gneiss that originated as basalt and is dominated by amphibole, is an amphibole gneiss or, more accurately, an amphibolite.
