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schist

schist

2 9.6
A hard rock that splits into thin shiny layers
  • noun
  • /ʃɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : esquisto
  • The main rivers are deeply incised in schists and granites, producing a gently undulating landscape with slope gradients that increase near the main streams.
  • mica schist
  • garnet schist
  • Manhattan schist

Examples

  • The rest of the catchment area is occupied exclusively by outcrops of schist.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Look at all this schist.

  • Large piles of schist and other stone fragments indicate the intensity of activity that once took place here.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Toward the evening of the day following, they came upon a canted dyke of gray schist which, rising and falling, created a chain of rocky islands across the swamp.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • To climb the summit, we clamber along a schist-filled trail as it weaves around the bottom of a cavernous glacial cirque.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The geologist explained that schist is a type of metamorphic rock known for its distinct layered structure.

  • As we hiked up the mountain, we noticed large slabs of schist that made the trail rough and exciting.

  • You can easily identify schist by its flaky layers that are a result of its mineral composition.

Synonyms

metamorphic rock
vsschist
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A rock changed by heat and pressure inside the earth

is a coarse grained type that splits into thin flaky layers

How Metamorphosed

gneiss
  • Specialized
1 9.9
schist
  • Specialized
2 9.6
slate
61 5.7
metasedimentary
  • Specialized
9.9
sedimentary rock
  • Specialized
3 3.5

Surface Forms

schist singular
schists plural

Etymology

The word schist comes from an old Greek word meaning 'to split' and is related to the English word schism ('a split'). So, schist is named for the way it easily splits into thin, flaky layers.