Schist
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Schist is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains ea
A schist showing characteristic scaly schistose texture caused by platy micas
Microscopic view of garnet-mica-schist in thin section under polarized light with a large garnet crystal (black) in a matrix of quartz and feldspar (white and gray grains) and parallel strands of mica (red, purple and brown).
View of cut garnet-mica-schist
Manhattan schist from southeastern New York State
Mica
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Micas are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as p
Schist
…lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes or plates. This texture reflects a high content of platy minerals, such as mica, talc, chlorite, or graphite. These are often interleaved with more granular minerals, such as feldspar or quartz. Schist typically forms during regional…
Mica
Sheets of mica
Photomicrographs of a thin section containing phlogopite. In cross-polarized light on the left, plane-polarized light on the right.
Dark mica from eastern Ontario