Schist vs. Gneiss

Schistnoun

Any of a variety of coarse-grained crystalline metamorphic rocks with a foliated structure that allows easy division into slabs or slates.

Schistnoun

Any crystalline rock having a foliated structure (see Foliation) and hence admitting of ready division into slabs or slates. The common kinds are mica schist, and hornblendic schist, consisting chiefly of quartz with mica or hornblende and often feldspar.

Schistnoun

any metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers

Schist

Schist ( shist) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes or plates.

Gneissnoun

(geology) A common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock having bands or veins, but not schistose.

Gneissnoun

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.

Gneissnoun

a laminated metamorphic rock similar to granite

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.