Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
Hornfels is a metamorphic rock formed by the contact between mudstone or other clay rich rock, and a hot igneous body, and represents a heat altered equivalent of the original rock
History
Origin
-
New Zealand
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
From German which means hornstone
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Family
Group
-
-
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Foliated, Platy
Granular, Platy
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Reddish Brown
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Layered and Shiny
Dull
Architecture
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork
Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Biotite hornfels
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
Smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
-
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Absent
Absent
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.
Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Hornfels is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.
Composition
Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Andalusite
Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Fe, Mg
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
-
-
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
3.5-42-3
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
White
-
Porosity
Highly Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Shiny
Shiny
Compressive Strength
150.00 N/mm25.80 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
Slaty
Perfect
Toughness
1.5
-
Specific Gravity
2.5-2.93.4-3.9
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm30.25-0.30 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.70 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, North Korea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand
Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Cameroon, East Africa, Tanzania, Western Africa
Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
United Kingdom
Others
-
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia