What Does Amphibolitic Mean?

Amphibolite is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar. Amphibolite is a grouping of rocks composed mainly of amphibole and plagioclase, with little or no quartz.

What does amphibole mean?

Amphiboles are found principally in metamorphic and igneous rocks. ... Amphibole, from the Greek amphibolos, meaning “ambiguous,” was named by the famous French crystallographer and mineralogist René-Just Haüy (1801) in allusion to the great variety of composition and appearance shown by this mineral group.

How do you identify amphibolite?

Long prismatic, acicular, or fibrous crystal habit, Mohs hardness between 5 and 6, and two directions of cleavage intersecting at approximately 56° and 124° generally suffice to identify amphiboles in hand specimens. The specific gravity values of amphiboles range from about 2.9 to 3.6.