This rock contains well over 90 percent quartz, giving it a pale, almost sugary appearance. It is formed from quartz -rich sandstones. At high magnification, minerals such as mica and feldspar, along with iron oxides, may be seen.

TEXTURE A medium-grained rock, its texture is very even, with the quartz crystals fused to form a tough crystalline rock. The texture is very different from that of the original arenaceous (sandy) sediment, in which there would have been pore spaces between the grains.

ORIGIN Metaquartzite forms by contact metamorphism of sand stone near a large igneous intrusion.

Group: METAMORPHIC

Grain size: Medium

Classification: Contact

Pressure: Low

Temperature: High

Structure: Crystalline