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Grains
Compared with igneous and metamorphic rocks, sandstones contain a much more limited suite of grains.
Quartz is by far the most common grain, sometimes comprising all or nearly all of the grains in a
sandstone. Feldspars can also be common, especially plagioclase and the potassium feldspars, orthoclase
and microcline. Several types of lithic grains may also be present, including fragments of igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Sandstones may also contain accessory minerals, although they are
not considered in classification. Although a great number of accessory minerals could be present in the
right circumstances, only certain types are relatively common, such as micas (biotite, muscovite, and
chlorite), heavy minerals (hornblende, zircon, tourmaline, apatite, and others), and opaque minerals
(hematite, ilmenite, and magnetite).
Quartz
Quartz displays low first-order interference colors (gray and white), low relief, and a lack of cleavage and
twinning. Some quartz grains display sweeping extinction. Quartz grains can be composed of single
crystals (monocrystalline) or multiple crystals (polycrystalline), which are fragments of quartzite or quartz
veins. Although polycrystalline quartz is a rock fragment, it is commonly treated as quartz (and not as a
lithic) in rock classification, owing to its chemical stability.
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Feldspar
Like quartz, feldspar has low relief and low first-order interference colors (white to gray), and it can be
easily misidentified as quartz where it lacks twins. Because so many feldspar grains are untwinned, it is
common to have doubly-stained thin sections, in which the red stain is picked up by calcium-bearing
grains (plagioclase) and the yellow stain is picked by potassium-bearing grains (microcline and
orthoclase).
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Same as previous thin section; crossed polars. Note brightly colored illite cement.
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Twinning is generally diagnostic of the type of feldspar, and for distinguishing it from quartz, which is not
twinned. Unlike quartz, which has no cleavage, feldspar has cleavage, which can be manifested as planar
and parallel sides, with planar fractures or parallel planes of inclusions. Whereas quartz tends to be clear
in plane-polarized light, feldspar is often cloudy or light brown, owing to its greater tendency to be
altered. In cross-polarized light, this alteration is often apparent by replacement with felted masses of
sericite or illite, which have brighter high first-order interference colors, similar to muscovite.
Plagioclase is distinguished from other feldspars by a single direction of micro-twinning (also called
polysynthetic twinning), consisting of numerous parallel-sided twins. Zoning is also common and is best
seen by variations in extinction angles and by the distribution of inclusions. The pink stain picked up by
plagioclase is more pronounced towards the anorthite (Ca-rich) end-member; however, Ca-rich
plagioclase is less resistant to weathering and therefore less common in sandstones than Na-rich
plagioclase (albite).
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Microcline is the easier of the two alkali feldspars to recognize, owing to its characteristic tartan (plaid)
twinning, which consists of two nearly perpendicular directions of micro-twins (one according to the albite
law, and one according to the pericline law). The twins are characteristiclly spindle-shaped, compared with
the regularly parallel twins of plagioclase. Microcline also commonly undergoes exsolution to form
perthite, an intergrowth of albite and potassium feldspar.
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Large gray grain in center displays tartan twinning disrupted by perthitic texture.
Orthoclase sometimes shows simple twinning (Carlsbad law), but is more commonly untwinned. As a
result, orthoclase is quite easily mistaken for quartz. Although one can get an optical sign on the grain,
the simplest solution is to get stained thin sections and look for the yellow stain.
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Chert is microcrystalline quartz and therefore occurs as a mass of very fine crystals with low first-order
interference colors (gray and white) and low relief.
Multiple chert grains showing low first-order colors, small crystal sizes.
Shale fragments are fine-grained sedimentary rock fragments. They are often brown, with silt-sized
quartz grains and disseminated opaque iron-oxide or iron-sulfide (pyrite) grains. Because they are
mechanically soft, shale fragments are commonly deformed during compaction. They are thus often
confused with matrix and sometimes known as pseudomatrix.
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Volcanic fragments can be highly variable in appearance, but are commonly recognized by the presence
of tiny blades of feldspar (with low first-order white and gray interference colors) within an exceptionally
fine groundmass. Volcanic fragments can be mistaken for chert, but the elongate feldspar grains are
typically diagnostic.
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Same thin-section, crossed polars. Note white plagioclase laths in volcanic grain.
Metamorphic fragments are commonly recognized by various types of schist or phyllite that display a
strong planar fabric, often defined by stretched grains of quartz and aligned crystals of muscovite.
Accessory minerals
Muscovite grains are easily recognizable from their clear color in plane-polarized light, second-order
interference colors, and well-developed cleavage. Muscovite is commonly deformed by compaction,
causing it to wrap around other grains.
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Same grain, showing second-order colors in crossed polars. Note nearby biotite.
Biotite grains are elongate, have prominent cleavage, and are dark brown to brownish-green in plane-
polarized light. Biotite grains commonly have numerous dark black spots in plane-polarized light, owing to
radiation damage. Biotite has 3rd-order to 4th-order interference colors, but these are commonly masked
by the strong brown absorption colors. Biotite is also commonly deformed by compaction.
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Chlorite grains are elongate, have good cleavage, and are pleochroic from nearly colorless to dark green.
Chlorite typically has first-order white or yellow interference colors, but anomalous colors like brown, blue,
or purple are common. Chlorite can be confused with green (iron-poor) biotite, although brown biotite is
more common. Like all micas, chlorite is commonly deformed by compaction.
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Zircon grains are small, but have strikingly high relief and similarly striking bright high-order colors, up to
third and fourth-order.
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Hornblende grains are pleochroic in plane-polarized light, varying from light green to dark green or
brown as the stage is rotated. Hornblende has low to moderate birefringence and therefore displays upper
first to lower second-order interference colors; however, the interference color is commonly obscured by
the green to brown absorption color seen in plane-polarized light.
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Glauconite is characterized by its green color and speckled appearance in plane-polarized and cross-
polarized light. It commonly occurs as oval peloids, but it can also occur as infillings of fossils and as a
cement.
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Chalcedony is characterized by its radial fibrous textures and low first-order interference colors.
Chalcedony can occur as a grain and as a cement.
Matrix
Matrix is clay and silt, and it therefore appears as extremely fine-grained material. Note that matrix
typically has a darker, dirtier appearance than chert. Matrix can be difficult to distinguish from compacted
and deformed shale clasts, which are sometimes called pseudomatrix.
Cement
Cement precipitates onto existing grains or matrix and therefore, the oldest cements in a rock are those
that are closest to the grains. In some cases, small radiating crystal may be visible next to grains, and in
others, large crystals may occupy entire pores. Because cement grows in pore space, it necessarily
occupies a smaller area of a thin section than do grains.
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There are many types of cements, but we will focus on the two most common (quartz and chert), plus the
relatively common iron oxide cements (hematite, goethite, limonite).
Quartz cement
Quartz cement is common, but can be hard to detect because it commonly grows in optical continuity with
quartz grains. In some cases, a thin coating of clay or iron oxides around the grain makes it easier to
distinguish the cement from the grain. Where such coatings are absent, the rock may look like a
metamorphic quartzite, with highly angular grains in a tightly fitted fabric. Thick coatings of clay or iron
oxide may prevent quartz cement from growing syntaxially. Quartz cement can be sourced from biogenic
silica (such as diatoms, radiolaria, or sponges), quartz dust, unstable silicate grains (e.g., pyroxene,
plagioclase, amphibole, etc.), and pressure solution.
Carbonate cement
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Carbonate cement displays fourth-order interference colors of pale pink and green, as well as high relief.
Calcite is the most common carbonate cement, but dolomite and siderite can also be important locally.
Carbonate cement can occur as drusy spar, with small crystals growing on grains, passing into larger
crystals of calcite in the center of pores, such as in the photograph to the left. Carbonate cement can also
be poikilotopic, in which single large crystals grow and envelop many grains. Poikilotopic cement can be
recognized as large areas of cement that are in optical continuity and therefore go extinct at the same
time under crossed polars. The growth of calcite cement commonly displaces grains, giving rise to a fabric
in which quartz grains apparently float within the cement. Calcite is frequently one of the first cements to
precipitate. In marine sediments, calcite cement is commonly derived from the dissolution of biogenic
carbonate.
Hematite is generally opaque in plane-polarized light. It may appear brick red in plane-polarized light if
the thin section is cut thinner than normal (lower photograph). Hematite cement is particularly common in
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terrestrial sediments.
Goethite cement can appear similar to hematite, but is generally more translucent and is also brick red
in both crossed and uncrossed polars.
Limonite cement is yellow to brown, and translucent. Weathering can convert originally hematite and
pyrite cements to goethite and limonite.
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Inserting the substage condenser can make the brown color of limonite apparent.
Thin rims of translucent brown limonite cement, locally opaque where thicker.
Other cements include chert, chalcedony, feldspars, clays, gypsum, anhydrite, celestite, and barite.
Epoxy
Epoxy can be confusing at first, particularly when it occurs because of a large open pore or because grains
were removed during the process of making a thin section. Epoxy is speckled in plane-polarized light, but
always opaque in crossed polars. There are also bubbles under crossed polars that have what looks to be
an interference cross.
http://strata.uga.edu/4500/labs/silicipetrography/ 19/21
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Large area of speckled epoxy, with four quartz grains at right. Plane-polarized.
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