Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
A water-soluble mineral sediment resulting from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution
Discoverer
Unknown
Usiglio
Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
From a sediment left after the evaporation
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Foliated, Platy
Earthy
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Green, Grey, Silver, White
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Layered and Shiny
Glassy, Vesicular and Foilated
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
As a Flux in the Production of Steel and Pig Iron, As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Medical Industry
-
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts
Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Used in the manufacture of Ceramic Powder, Used in the preparation of Sulfuric Acid and Silicon Diborite
Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Sedimentary rock
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
Generally rough to touch, Splintery, Veined
Archaeological Significance
Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
Evaporite is water-soluble mineral sediment which forms from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution.
Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Calcite, Cancrinite, Gypsum, Kyanite, Magnetite
Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
CaMg(CO3)2, CaO, Calcium Sulfate, KCl, MgO, NaCl
Types of Metamorphism
-
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
-
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
-
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Porosity
Highly Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Shiny
Subvitreous to Dull
Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9
2.86-2.99
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent
Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
-
Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
-
Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
United Kingdom
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
USA
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Colombia, Paraguay
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland
Central Australia, Western Australia