I YEAR B.TECH C.E.

II-SEM

PETROLOGY
Introduction: Petrology deals with the study of rocks
Petro = rock , ( litho=rock )
Logos = study
Petrology comprises the
Origin,
Association
Occurrence
Mineral composition
Texture
Structure
Physical properties etc.. of rocks
Rock: Aggregated solid of minerals is called rock.
(Or)
A rock may be defined as “an unit of the earth’s crust

All rocks are made of two or more minerals, but minerals are not made of
rocks.
 Geological Classification of Rocks
• There are three main types of rocks:

1. Igneous - formed when molten rock

cools.

2. Metamorphic – rocks changed by the

effect of heat and pressure.

3. Sedimentary – formed by the

consolidation of sediments in the
layered or bedded rocks deposited in
the ocean bottom or huge lakes, etc.
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• Rivers, oceans, winds, and rain runoff all have the ability
to carry the particles washed off of eroding rocks.

• Such material, called detritus, consists of fragments of

rocks and minerals.

• When the energy of the transporting current is not strong

enough to carry these particles, the particles drop out in
the process of sedimentation.

• This type of sedimentary deposition is referred to as

clastic sedimentation.
• Another type of sedimentary deposition occurs when
material is dissolved in water, and chemically
precipitates from the water. This type of sedimentation is
referred to as chemical sedimentation.

• A third process can occur, wherein living organisms

extract ions dissolved in water to make such things as
shells and bones. This type of sedimentation is called
biochemical sedimentation.

• The accumulation of plant matter, such as at the bottom

of a swamp, is referred to as organic sedimentation.
 Clastic Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks

The formation of a clastic sediment and sedimentary rocks

involves five processes:

1.Weathering
2.Erosion

3.Transportation
4.Deposition
5.Lithification
1. Weathering - The first step is transforming solid rock into
smaller fragments or dissolved ions by physical and
chemical agents.

2. Erosion - Erosion is actually many processes which act

together to lower the surface of the earth. In terms of
producing sediment, erosion begins the transportation
process by moving the weathered products from their
original location. This can take place by gravity (mass
wasting events like landslides or rock falls), by running
water. by wind, or by moving ice.
3. Transportation - Sediment can be transported by sliding
down slopes, being picked up by the wind, or by being
carried by running water in streams, rivers, or ocean
currents.

4. Deposition - Sediment is deposited when the energy of

the transporting medium becomes too low to continue
the transport process. In other words, if the velocity of
the transporting medium becomes too low to transport
sediment, the sediment will fall out and become
deposited. The final sediment thus reflects the energy of
the transporting medium.
5. Lithification - Lithification is the process that turns sediment
into rock. The first stage of the process is compaction.
Compaction occurs as the weight of the overlying material
increases.

Compaction forces the grains closer together, reducing pore

space and eliminating some of the contained water.

This causes cementation, which will then start to bind the

individual particles together.
 METAMORPHIC ROCKS
• Metamorphic rocks are the rocks formed from other
rocks. They are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have
undergone changes as a result of extreme pressure and
heat and chemically active solutions.

• The name defines their formation whereby ‘meta’ means

change and ‘morph’ means ‘form.’

• Hence, metamorphic rocks are those whose forms have

been changed through geological process such as large
tectonic movements and magma intrusions.
• Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of
existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism,
which means “change in form”.

• The original rock is subjected to heat (temperatures

greater than 150 to 200 °C) and pressure (1500 bars),
causing profound physical and/or chemical change.

• The original rock may be a sedimentary rock, an igneous

rock or another older metamorphic rock.
• Large tectonic movements and magma intrusions create
earth movements and subsequently cause the
pre-existing rocks to move and shift.

• In turn, the movements subject other rocks buried deep

below the earth’s surface to extreme pressure and heat
which contributes to changes and assemblage of the
rocks texture, mineralogy, and chemical composition.
• Those formed as a result of widely distributed pressure
and temperature changes induced by tectonic
movements are known as regional metamorphic rocks.

• Metamorphic rocks are largely grouped into foliated

and non-foliated rocks.
 Pegmatite
Dolerite
Charnockite

Laterite
 Rock Cycle

• The three different types of

rocks--- igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic---are
constantly being changed from
one type to another type
through various geological
processes.
Early stage of Earth = Molten stage
Volcanic Eruption

Lava flow
IGNEOUS

Crystallization

MAGMA
 Weathering

Volcanic
IGNEOUS
Plutonic

Crystallization

Uplift MAGMA
 Weathering SEDIMENT

Volcanic
IGNEOUS
Plutonic

Crystallization

Uplift MAGMA
 SEDIMENT Erosion
Weathering

Transport

Volcanic Deposition

IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY
Plutonic

Crystallization

Uplift MAGMA
 SEDIMENT Erosion
Weathering

Transport

Volcanic Deposition

IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY
Plutonic

Crystallization

Uplift MAGMA
 SEDIMENT Erosion
Weathering

Transport

Volcanic Deposition

IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY
Plutonic Increased P&T

METAMORPHIC
Crystallization

Burial
Uplift MAGMA
 SEDIMENT Erosion
Weathering

Transport

Volcanic Deposition

IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY
Plutonic Increased P&T

METAMORPHIC
Crystallization
Melting
Burial
Uplift MAGMA
 SEDIMENT Erosion
Weathering

Transport

Volcanic Deposition

IGNEOUS SEDIMENTARY
Plutonic Increased P&T

METAMORPHIC
Crystallization
Melting
Burial
Uplift MAGMA
 In Conclusion…

• The rock cycle demonstrates the

relationships among the three
major rock groups
• It is powered by the interior heat of
the Earth
• As well as earth’s momentum
and…
• The energy from the sun
• It involves processes on the
Earth’s surface as well as the
Earth’s interior
• It connects the “hydrologic cycle”
with the “tectonic cycle”.
 FORMS OF INTRUSIVE IGNEOUS ROCKS

• Commonly observed forms of Plutonic (intrusive) rocks in the

field are: dykes, sills, laccoliths, bysmaliths, phacoliths,
lopolith, volcanic necks, batholiths and chonoliths.

• Based on the attitudes of the associated country rocks the forms

are called either as Concordant or Discordant.
DYKES: Dykes and sills are the most common forms of the
intrusive igneous bodies.

• They are discordant

• Cut across the bedding of the rocks in which they intrude
• Vertical to steeply inclined and sheet like body (extensive in
lateral dimension)
• Thickness vary widely from an inch upto hundreds of feet
• Injected through fractures, joints, and weak planes
• Quartz-Dolerite dykes of Midland valley of Scotland
are about 50-60 km long and upto 30m thick. Few
places some dykes are very short upto few meters
and as thin as few cm.
SILLS: Sills are relatively thin tabular sheetlike body that penetrates
parallel to the bedding planes.

• Laterally it may extends for 100’s of km and upto 10 km

in width.

• Lateral extension mainly depends on the hydrostatic

force, temperature, degree of fluidity or viscosity, weight
of overlying sediment column.

• Since basic magma are more fluid then acidic magma-

mostly sills are made up of gabbros, dolerites and
basalts
 Spreads parallel to the
limestone
bedding planes of the rocks,
sandstone
hence concordant in nature.

mudstone
LACCOLITHS: It is a concordant body, with flat bottom
and convex upward. It is dome
shaped.

➢ When viscous magma is

injected rapidly along
the bedding, as it cannot
spreads it pushes up the
overlying layers and
keep on piling up.ock
layers.
BYSMILATH

•It BYSMALITH: It is cylindrically

is developed when shaped
highly viscous magmabody.
is injected,
because the lateral spreading along the bedding is less
it acquires to move upwards and form cylindrical shape.

•Causes breaking of overlying rock layers.

BATHOLITHS: are the largest kind of plutons,
irregular in shape and occupies large
area.

• Batholiths have side sloping away from each other which

makes them larger and large downwards extending to
greater depth.
• Their occurrence is commonly associated with the
mountain-building process.
• These are either granites or granodiorites in composition.
Stocks: Are smaller

irregular bodies with 10 km

in maximum dimension, and
are associated with
batholiths.
PHACOLITHS: These are concordant bodies that occurs
along the crests and troughs of the folded
sedimentary strata.
LOPOLITHS: These are basin or saucer-shaped concordant
bodies with top nearly flat and convex bottom

• They are very huge body with diameter upto 150 miles
(app. 240 km)

Lopolith
CHONOLITHS: This term is applied to all other intrusive
igneous bodies with irregular shape, i.e. the
body with no specific shape.

VOLCANIC NECK or VOLCANIC PLUGS: It is

cylindrical conduit that fed magma upward to a volcanic vent
or it is a conduit of the ancient volcano. Vary in diameter from
a few 100’s of m to a kilometer or more. These are filled up
with crystalline rocks. Shape-circular, elliptical or irregular.
 STRUCTURES AND TEXTURES OF
IGNEOUS ROCKS
• These are physical features associated with the rocks.

• They occur along with the formation of rocks and are

important because:

i. They contribute to the strength or weakness of rocks

ii. They serve as distinguishing features of rock groups and

iii. They reveal the mode of origin of rocks concerned.

 Structures of Igneous Rocks
(i) Vesicular and amygdaloidal structures:

• When lavas heavily charged with gases and other

volatiles are erupted on the surface, the gaseous
constituent's escapes from the magma as there is a
decrease in the pressure. Thus, near the top of flows,
empty cavities of variable dimensions are formed.
The individual openings are known as
vesicles and the structure as a whole is
known as vesicular structure.
• If, however, the vesicles thus formed are subsequently
filled in with some low-temperature secondary minerals,
such as calcite, zeolite, chalcedony etc., these infillings
are called 'amygdales‘.

• Thus the structure is called amygdaloidal structure.

 (iii) Columnar structure:
•As a consequence of contraction due to cooling, a few sets
of vertical joints develop. Such joints bring about the
formation of columns, which may be square, rectangular,
rhombic or hexagonal in outline.
 (iv) Sheet structure:
•The development of one set of well defined joints
sometimes brings about a slicing effect on the massive
igneous rock body. If all such slices are horizontal, the
structure is said to be sheet structure.
(v) Pillow structure:

•It consists of isolated pillow shaped masses piled one upon

another... These are produced by extrusion of lava into
rain-soaked air, beneath ice-sheets, under water logged
sediments or in sea water.
 TEXTURES OF IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Based on granularity or grain size:

- grain size depends on physical conditions that

prevailed during the time of Crystallization of
magma

i.e. presence of volatiles, rate of cooling, pressure,

temperature etc.
Slow cooling = larger mineral grains

Fast cooling = smaller mineral grains

 PHANERIC TEXTURE
Is characterized by LARGE SIZE MINERALS which can be easily
seen by Naked eye (size at least 1mm or greater)

Coarse-grained Medium-grained Fine-grained

Phaneric Phaneric Phaneric
- > 5mm - 1 mm - 5mm <1 mm
Commonly associated with the INTRUSIVE (PLUTONIC) IGNEOUS
ROCKS, because magma in the crust cools at slower rate and have
enough time to result into large mineral grains.
Eg. Granite; Pegmatite
DIORITE
GABBRO
 APHANITIC TEXTURE
Is characterized by FINE GRAINED MINERALS, which can be seen
under microscope (size < 1mm)

Commonly associated with the VOLCANIC

(EXTRUSIVE) IGNEOUS ROCKS, because magma
on the surface flows cools faster.
Eg. Basalts; Rhyolite
Basalt

Rhyolite
Obsidian
 PORPHYRITIC TEXTURE

Is a distinctive mixture of large and fine grained mineral grains

This happens when slow cooling is followed by rapid

cooling. Phenocrysts = larger crystals, matrix or
groundmass = smaller crystals
 ANDESITE PROPHYERY

Phenocrysts of Amphibole Ground mass mainly of

Plagioclase feldspar (Na/Ca)
Textures based on shape of crystals.

•If most of the grains are euhedral - that is they are

bounded by well-formed crystal faces.

•If most of the grains are subhedral - that is they are

bounded by only a few well-formed crystal faces.

•If most of the grains are anhedral - that is they are

generally not bounded by crystal faces.
 Textures based on Mineral Relations:
•Equigranular: when magma or lava cystallizes under similar
conditions, equigranular texture develops. In this, the
minerals present are approximately of same size.

•
 Poryphyritic texture:
•In this, minerals of two different sizes occur, i.e., larger and
smaller. Larger minerals are called phenocrysts and
smaller minerals are called ground mass.
 Poikilitic texture:
•Numerous grains of various minerals in random orientation
are completely enclosed within large, optically continuous
crystals of different composition.
 Ophitic texture:
•This is very commonly noticed in dolerites, under the
microscope. In this, augite mineral grains enclose small
laths of plagioclase feldspars.
 Intergranular texture:
•This is mostly observed in basalts. In this, rectangular
shaped plagioclase feldspar grains form a network, and
space left in between are filled by mafic minerals like
augite, olivine and iron oxides.
 Graphic texture:
•This is an intergrowth texture formed due to eutectic
crystallization in which two minerals are formed
simultaneously. The intergrowth of these two minerals
results in a peculiar graphic texture in which quartz is
embedded in feldspars as prismatic or wedge shaped
grains.
 Interlocking texture:
•In this texture, the different minerals are closely interlinked
or mutually locked with one another.
 GRANITE
• Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large

enough to be visible with the unaided eye. It forms from

the slow crystallization of magma below Earth's surface.

Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with

minor amounts of mica, amphiboles, and other minerals.

 PEGMATITES
• Pegmatites are extreme igneous rocks that form during
the final stage of a magma’s crystallization. They are
extreme because they contain exceptionally large
crystals and they sometimes contain minerals that are
rarely found in other types of rocks.

• Most pegmatites have a composition that is similar

to granite with abundant quartz, feldspar, and mica.
These are sometimes called “granite pegmatites” to
indicate their mineralogical composition.
 BASALT
• Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained, igneous rock
composed mainly of plagioclase and pyroxene minerals.
It most commonly forms as an extrusive rock, such as a
lava flow, but can also form in small intrusive bodies,
such as an igneous dike or a thin sill.

• Basalt underlies more of Earth's surface than any other

rock type. Most areas within Earth's ocean basins are
underlain by basalt.
PUMICE
Sedimentary
rocks
 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
• These are formed out of sediments.

• Sediments are rock fragments which are products of

weathering.

• Sediments which have formed out of disintegration and

loose materials of various sizes like clay, sand and
pebbles.

• These sediments on subsequent cementation or

compaction or both give rise to hard, cohesive
sedimentary rocks.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
There are 2 ways sedimentary rocks are formed
1. Clastic are made from sediments glued together
2. Non-clastic: not glued together---include chemical &
biochemical/organic

Sedimentary Rocks Usually Contain Fossils.

 THE 2 CLASSES OF SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
1. CLASTIC Sedimentary Rocks are made from sediments that
come from pre-existing rocks that have been weathered (breaking
down into smaller pieces) and eroded (transported away) then
glued together.

The 2 types of weathering include physical (only size changes) and

chemical (a new substance is formed).
 Here’s How They Form:
•Layers of sediment are deposited at the bottom of oceans and lakes

•As the layers build one on top of another, the pressure on the bottom
layers COMPACTS the sediments together

•In the empty spaces between sediments, natural glues, like calcite,
CEMENT the sediments together

Demo
of
Sedimentator
Look at the processes that
are occurring in this
animation
Clastic Process
 Examples of clastic sedimentary rocks include

CONGLOMERAT
E BRECCI
A

SHALE SANDSTON
 2) Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
➢ These rocks form as a result of chemical weathering
dissolving chemicals and transporting it in solution.
When conditions are right, these dissolved chemicals
change back into a solid through the processes of
precipitation and evaporation.
➢ Precipitation:
Process where chemicals dissolved on solution, fall
out of solution and forms a solid material. Most
common in shallow water environments.
➢ Evaporation:
Process where there is a change in state from a
liquid to a gas. Chemicals dissolved in the liquid
(water) are left behind as a solid material.
 2) Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
➢ Precipitation may occur as a result of physical
processes, or indirectly through life processes of
water-dwelling organisms. Sedimentary rock
formed in this way is referred to as Biochemical.
Many organisms excrete dissolved minerals to form
shells and when they die the shells accumulate on
the sea floor and form a rock called Coquina.
 2) Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
➢ These rocks usually form in water environments
such as lakes and shallow seas or oceans.
➢ Some examples of chemical sedimentary rocks include;
1) Limestone (Calcite) - (form by precipitation)
2) Rock Gypsum - (form by precipitation and evaporation)
3) Rock salt (Halite) – (from by evaporation)
4) Coquina - (form by biochemical processes)
 3) Organic Sedimentary Rocks
➢ These rocks form as a result of once living material
accumulating to form solid rock.
➢ The most common organic sedimentary rocks
forms when plant material in water saturated
environments (swamps) die and accumulate to
form peat. As peat is buried it compresses and
eventually changes to form rock.
 STRUCTURES AND TEXTURES
OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

• Stratification

• Ripple marks
• Mud cracks

• Rain prints
• Tracks and trails
• STRATIFICATION refers to the way sediment layers are
stacked over each other, and can occur on the scale of
hundreds of meters, and down to sub-millimeter scale.
It is a fundamental feature of sedimentary rocks.

• When the thickness of individual beds is very small it is

called lamination.

• Bedding plane is the plane of contact between any two

adjacent beds of strata.
• CROSS-BEDDING is a feature that occurs at various
scales, and is observed in conglomerates and
sandstones. It reflects the transport of gravel and sand
by currents that flow over the sediment surface (e.g. in a
river channel) sand in river channels or coastal
environments.
• When cross-bedding forms, sand is transported as
sand-dune like bodies (sandwave), in which sediment is
moved up and eroded along a gentle upcurrent slope,
and redeposited (avalanching) on the downcurrent
slope.

• After several of these bedforms have migrated over an

area, and if there is more sediment deposited than
eroded, there will be a buildup of cross-bedded
sandstone layers. The inclination of the cross-beds
indicates the transport direction and the current flow.
• GRADED BEDDING means that the grain size within a
bed decreases upwards. This type of bedding is
commonly associated with so called turbidity currents.
Turbidity currents originate on the slope between
continental shelves and deep sea basins.

• When the flow reaches the deep sea basin/deep sea

plain, the acceleration by gravity stops, and the flow
decelerates. As it slows down the coarsest grains settle
out first, then the next finer ones, etc. Finally a graded
bed is formed.
• RIPPLE MARKS are produced by flowing water or wave
action, analogous to cross-bedding only on a smaller
scale.
• MUD CRACKS form when a water rich mud dries out on
the air.

• You all have seen this when the mud in a puddle dries
out in the days following a rainstorm. Due to stretching
in all directions, the mud cracks form a polygonal
pattern.
• Rain Prints:
Circular pits on the sediment surface produced by the
impact of raindrops when the sediment was still soft.
Tracks and Trails:

•When any living being passes over soft sediment, it will

leave an imprint of its passage - the footprints of a tiger, tail
drags of a crocodile or pointed depressions from a crab's
legs.

•These impressions often are filled in with sediment and

preserved as trace fossils. A trace fossil is indirect record of
an organism having once existed. It is not a bone or tissue
of the once-living being, but an artifact of the organism's life
on earth.
Conglomerate:
•Conglomerate is made up of rounded pebbles cemented
together. The pebbles have been rounded by the action of
moving water. This could be from a river or stream or from
waves on a long ago beach.

•Because they have been transported by water the pebbles

may be from a wide variety of rock types.
• After the pebbles have been deposited they are
compacted by the sediments that pile up on top of them.
Over very long periods of time the pebbles become
cemented together by other minerals. Silica, calcite, and
iron oxides are the most common cementing minerals.

• The rounded rock particles in the conglomerate are

easily visible to the naked eye.
 Breccia:
•Breccia consists of angular rock fragments cemented
together. The angular shape implies that the fragments
have not moved far from their source. Fragments
are pea-sized and larger, similar to conglomerate.
Commonly, breccias are found along fault zones. Breccias
can be of any colour.
• After the pebbles have been deposited they are
compacted by the sediments that pile up on top of them.
Over very long periods of time the pebbles become
cemented together by minerals.

• Silica, calcite, and iron oxides are the most common

cementing minerals. The angular pebbles in the breccia
are easily visible to the naked eye.
Sandstone
•Sandstone is as its name says sand grains cemented
together into solid stone. The grain size of sandstone
is 1/16 to 2 mm in diameter.

•Sandstone is made up mostly of quartz. Quartz is one of

the most abundant minerals on earth and it is very durable.
It resists weathering and chemical change.
• Sandstone consists of sand grains that have been
cemented together. Sandstones can range
from coarse-grained to fine-grained. You should be able
to distinguish the sand grains with the naked
eye. Light-colored sandstones consisting mainly of
rounded, well-sorted, quartz grains are referred to as
mature sandstones or quartz sandstones.

• Sandstones that contain angular grains of several

different minerals are referred to as immature
sandstones or graywackes.

• Sandstones containing feldspar grains are arkoses.

Limestone
•Limestone is a sedimentary rock made primarily of calcium
carbonate or calcite. The most common source of this
calcite is the shells of marine organisms like mollusks,
corals.

•Most limestone is formed in marine environments. Shallow

seas that are home to the creatures that use calcite to
make their shells are ideal for limestone creation.
• Limestone can also form in caves where calcite rich
water filters through the earth leaving behind small
amounts of calcium carbonate as it passes. Over long
periods of time these deposits create stalactites and
stalagmites of limestone.

• About 10% of all sedimentary rocks are limestone.

Metamorphic rocks
• When rocks are baked by heat of molten magma
or squeezed by the movements of huge tectonic
plates or by the pressure of overlying thick
succession of rocks

● They are altered or changed beyond their recognition

i.e. change in Chemical composition, texture and structure

Metamorphic rocks
 Metamorphism

Is the process that occurs in rocks

due to the effects of
• High temperature
• High pressure
 Temperature
• The source of temperature is either from magma or
due to the depth factor

• Metamorphism usually result into change in min.

comp. and texture of rocks (Ig. and Sed.) which are
subjected to temp. > 1000 C and pressure > 1000’s
Mpa.

• Low-grade metamorphism:
Occurs at about 1000 C to 5000 C.
• High-grade metamorphism:
Occurs at > 5000 C
 Pressure
UNIFORM
PRESSURE
- increases with depth due to
increase in overburden.
- acts vertically downwards and
affects the volume of both liquid
& solids.
- high temperature is also
associated with (due to depth
factor)
- Lithostatic pressure- due to
overburden
DIRECT or Differential PRESSURE
- increases with depth upto some
extent, effective in the upper part
of the crust.
- acts in all direction and affects only
on solids resulting into deformation
of shape and change in mineral
composition
- high temperature is not always
associated. to depth factor
- Stress- due to tectonic forces
 Type of Metamorphism
• Cataclastic Metamorphism
• This type of metamorphism occurs mainly due to direct
pressure
• eg. when two bodies of rock slide past one another along
a fault zone. Heat is generated by the friction of sliding
along the zone, and the rocks tend to be crushed and
pulverized due to the sliding.
• Cataclastic metamorphism is mere mechanical
breakdown of rocks without any new mineral formation,
however, sometime due to intense shearing few new
minerals are formed.
● Contact Metamorphism-
● This type of metamorphism occurs locally adjacent to the igneous intrusion;
with high temp. and low stress
● There is little change in bulk composition of the rock
● Area surrounding the intrusion is heated by the magma; metamorphism is
restricted to a zone surrounding the intrusion, this zone is know as
METAMORPHIC AUREOLE.
● The rocks formed are non-foliated fine-grained rocks called as
HORNFELS.
● Regional Metamorphism-
● metamorphism occurs covering larger area, which is subjected to intense
deformation under direct or differential stress.
● Rocks formed under such environment are usually strongly foliated, such
as slates, schists, and gniesses.
● The differential stresses result from tectonic forces,
● eg. when two continental masses collide with one another resulting into
mountain building activity. Compressive stresses result in folding of the
rock
 STRUCTURES IN METAMORPHIC ROCKS
• Foliation: when platy, lamellar or flaky minerals (eg.
sheet silicate minerals the micas: biotite and
muscovite, chlorite, talc, and serpentine), occurring in
rock orient themselves parallel to one another (i.e.
perpendicular to the direction of maximum pressure or
stress).

Preferred
Random orientation
orientation Of minerals
Of minerals
• Lineation: when prismatic or rod-like
minerals (eg. Hornblende, tourmaline etc.)
occurring in a rock orient themselves parallel
to one another (perpendicular to direction of
maxi. Pressure or stress)
 Crystalloblastic and Palimpsest Textures
• The textures which have developed newly during the
process of metamorphism are called crystalloblastic
textures.

• The textures which belong to parent rocks but still

retained in metamorphic rocks are called palimpsest
textures.
 Crystalloblastic textures are of two types.

•Xenoblastic and

•Idioblastic.

•If the constituent minerals of the rock have no

well-developed crystal faces, they are called Xenoblastic
textures.

•Whereas, if the constituent minerals of the rock have

well-developed crystal faces, they are called idioblastic
textures.
 Gneissose structure:
•If the rock consists of equidimensional minerals along with
others, first segregation of the minerals occurs and bands
are formed. Then foliation and lineation of platy and
prismatic minerals take place. Such an arrangement of
minerals is called gneissose structure.
 Schistose structure:
•If the rock consists of only prismatic or platy minerals, then
no segregation takes place but only foliation and/or
lineation. Such a texture is called schistose texture.
 Granulose structure:
•If the rock is composed predominantly of equidimensional
minerals, then neither segregation nor foliation takes place.
Such a texture is called granulose structure.
 Cataclastic structure:
•A texture in a dynamically metamorphosed rock produced
by severe mechanical crushing and differential movement
of the component grains.

•When the rocks are highly crushed into fine grained rocks,
they are known as mylonites.

•Since these structures are formed due to cataclasis, they

are, as a whole, known as cataclastic structure.