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In
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
, texture or
rock microstructure Rock microstructure includes the texture and small-scale structures of a rock. The words ''texture'' and ''microstructure'' are interchangeable, with the latter preferred in modern geological literature. However, ''texture'' is still acceptable ...
refers to the relationship between the materials of which a rock is composed. The broadest textural classes are crystalline (in which the components are intergrown and interlocking crystals), fragmental (in which there is an accumulation of fragments by some physical process),
aphanitic Aphanites (adj. ''aphanitic''; ) are igneous rocks that are so fine-grained that their component mineral crystals are not visible to the naked eye (in contrast to phanerites, in which the crystals are visible to the unaided eye). This ge ...
(in which crystals are not visible to the unaided eye), and glassy (in which the particles are too small to be seen and amorphously arranged).Texture & Genesis of Rocks, Introductory Geology Laboratory, Christopher DiLeonardo, Ph.D., Marek Cichanski, Ph.D., Earth & Space Sciences,
De Anza College De Anza College is a public community college in Cupertino, California. It is part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, which also administers Foothill College in nearby Los Altos Hills, California. The college is named after th ...
 The geometric aspects and relations amongst the component particles or crystals are referred to as the '' crystallographic texture'' or ''preferred orientation''. Textures can be quantified in many ways. The most common parameter is the crystal size distribution. This creates the physical appearance or character of a rock, such as grain size, shape, arrangement, and other properties, at both the visible and microscopic scale. Crystalline textures include phaneritic, foliated, and
porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning a ...
. Phaneritic textures are where interlocking crystals of igneous rock are visible to the unaided eye. Foliated texture is where metamorphic rock is made of layers of materials. Porphyritic texture is one in which larger pieces (
phenocrysts 300px, feldspathic phenocrysts. This granite, from the Switzerland">Swiss side of the Mont Blanc massif, has large white plagioclase phenocrysts, triclinic minerals that give trapezoid shapes when cut through). 1 euro coins, 1 euro coin (diameter ...
) are embedded in a background mass made of much finer grains. Fragmental textures include
clastic Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...
, bioclastic, and
pyroclastic Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...
. A preferred mineral orientation, is the texture of
metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...
in which its grains have a flattened shape (inequant), and their planes tend to be oriented in the same direction.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak


See also

*
List of rock textures This page is intended to be a list of rock textural and morphological terms. A * Adcumulate * Agglomeritic * Adamantine a type of lustre * Amygdaloidal * Anhedral * Antitaxial veins * Aphanitic * Aplitic; aplite * Augen textured gn ...
*
Rock microstructure Rock microstructure includes the texture and small-scale structures of a rock. The words ''texture'' and ''microstructure'' are interchangeable, with the latter preferred in modern geological literature. However, ''texture'' is still acceptable ...
*
Texture (crystalline) In physical chemistry and materials science, texture is the distribution of crystallographic orientations of a polycrystalline sample (it is also part of the geological fabric). A sample in which these orientations are fully random is said to ha ...
* Igneous textures * Vesicular texture *
Amygdule Amygdules or amygdales () form when the vesicles (pores from gas bubbles in lava) of a volcanic rock or other extrusive igneous rock are infilled with a secondary mineral, such as calcite, quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral c ...
*
Soil texture Soil texture is a classification instrument used both in the field and laboratory to determine soil classes based on their physical texture. Soil texture can be determined using qualitative methods such as texture by feel, and quantitative methods ...


References

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