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Results for metamorphic rock:

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metamorphic rock

CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: Rocks which have been changed from their original form by heat or by pressure beneath the surface of the earth. Metamorphic transformations include limestone to marble, shale to slate, and slate to schist. When magma forms an intrusion, it heats and alters the surrounding rocks by contact metamorphism, which forms a ring of altered rocks?the metamorphic aureole?around the intrusion.

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argillite

CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A compact metamorphic rock formed from siltstone, shale, or clay stone and intermediate in structure between shale and slate. It is cemented by silica but has no slaty cleavage.

chlorite

SYNONYMS OR RELATED TERMS: steatite, soapstone
CATEGORY: geology
DEFINITION: A soft gray, green, or black silicate mineral used for seals and vessels, also called steatite. Chlorite is a common rock-forming mineral in clastic sediments and in hydrothermally altered igneous rocks; chlorites are widespread and important constituents of such metamorphic rocks as green schists or chlorite schists.

schist

CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A coarse-grained metamorphic rock which consists of layers of different minerals and can be split into thin irregular plates

slate

CATEGORY: artifact
DEFINITION: A fine-grained grey, green, or bluish-purple metamorphic rock easily split into smooth, flat plates