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Types of Rocks formed when heat or pressure is added

Types of Rocks formed when heat or pressure is added Here, we’ll go over the various kinds of rocks that can only be created when extreme temperatures or pressures are applied. Rocks can be formed in a variety of ways, and their states also fluctuate over time.

Three types of rocks

There are three types of rocks that are studied in Geography and Geology, which are:

• Sedimentary rocks,
• Igneous rocks and
• Metamorphic rocks.

Rocks are classified based on the way they form.

What are metamorphic rocks?

Whether they were originally igneous, sedimentary, or an earlier metamorphic rock, metamorphic rocks have undergone significant changes since their original form. Rocks become metamorphic when they are subjected to extreme conditions, such as high temperatures, high pressure, hot mineral-rich fluids, or a combination of these. Such environments can be found at the Earth’s core or at the boundaries of the many tectonic plates.

How Metamorphic rocks form

Metamorphic rocks are the third category of rocks and are the only ones that may develop without the use of either high heat or high pressure or the introduction of hot mineral-rich fluids.

Process of Metamorphism:
The process of metamorphism does not melt the rocks, but instead transforms them into denser, more compact rocks. New minerals are created either by rearrangement of mineral components or by reactions with fluids that enter the rocks. Pressure or temperature can even change previously metamorphosed rocks into new types. Metamorphic rocks are often squished, smeared out, and folded. Despite these uncomfortable conditions, metamorphic rocks do not get hot enough to melt, or they would become igneous rocks!

Common Metamorphic Rocks:
Common metamorphic rocks include phyllite, schist, gneiss, quartzite and marble.

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks:
Some kinds of metamorphic rocks — granite gneiss and biotite schist are two examples — are strongly banded or foliated. (Foliated means the parallel arrangement of certain mineral grains that gives the rock a striped appearance.) Foliation forms when pressure squeezes the flat or elongate minerals within a rock so they become aligned. These rocks develop a platy or sheet-like structure that reflects the direction that pressure was applied.

Non-Foliated Metamorphic Rocks:
Non-foliated metamorphic rocks do not have a platy or sheet-like structure. There are several ways that non-foliated rocks can be produced. Some rocks, such as limestone are made of minerals that are not flat or elongate. No matter how much pressure you apply, the grains will not align! Another type of metamorphism, contact metamorphism, occurs when hot igneous rock intrudes into some pre-existing rock. The pre-existing rock is essentially baked by the heat, changing the mineral structure of the rock without addition of pressure.

Different forms of Metamorphic rocks:

• Shale
• Slate
• Phyllite
• Schist
• Gneis

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