A
sample of quartzite. Enlarge the image to see the sugary appearance of this
specimen.Return to the Metamorphic Rocks page.
QUARTZITE The parent rock for quartzite is quartz-rich sandstone. As sandstone becomes deeply buried, rising temperature will fuse the quartz grains together forming the extremely hard and weather-resistant rock quartzite. Like marble, quartzite comes in many colors, but when pure it is light-colored. Quartzite tends to have a sugary appearance, and when broken the fractures cut through the sand grains, not around them as with a sandstone.
A
sample of quartzite. Enlarge the image to see the sugary appearance of this
specimen.
This
microscopic, thin-section view of quartzite shows the tight packing and recrystallization
of quartz grains characteristic of quartzite. Used by permission of Dr. Allen
Glazner, University of North Carolina.
A
sample of quartzite collected from the Anti Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Note the
complete mineral replacement that occurred to the trilobite fossil on this rock specimen.
Another
quartzite sample from southern Morocco. This specimen was shaped into a tool
by ancient humans living in northern Africa thousands of years ago.
A
comparison of quartzite (above) to quartz sandstone (below). Note that
individual sand grains are readily visible on the surface of the sandstone, but not on the
quartzite.