Migmatite vs. Gneiss — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Migmatite and Gneiss
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Compare with Definitions
Migmatite
Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively; one layer was formerly paleosome, a metamorphic rock that was reconstituted subsequently by partial melting; the alternate layer has a pegmatitic, aplitic, granitic or generally plutonic appearance.
Gneiss
Gneiss ( nyse) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. Gneiss is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks.
Migmatite
A rock of both metamorphic and igneous origin that exhibits characteristics of both rock types and probably forms through the heating but not melting of rocks in the presence of abundant fluids.
Gneiss
A banded or foliated metamorphic rock, usually of the same composition as granite.
Migmatite
(geology) Any rock of mixed appearance, being an intimate mixture of granite and older rock, specifically from intense metamorphism which partially melts the rock, causing it to recrystallize in a state intermediate between igneous and metamorphic.
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Gneiss
(geology) A common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock having bands or veins, but not schistose.
Gneiss
A crystalline rock, consisting, like granite, of quartz, feldspar, and mica, but having these materials, especially the mica, arranged in planes, so that it breaks rather easily into coarse slabs or flags. Hornblende sometimes takes the place of the mica, and it is then called hornblendic gneiss or syenitic gneiss. Similar varieties of related rocks are also called gneiss.
Gneiss
A laminated metamorphic rock similar to granite
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