Amphibole Thin Section

Commonly found as slender prismatic to bladed crystals with a diamon shaped cross section showing the amphibole cleavage at 56 and 124.
Amphibole thin section. In addition there is an even larger 10 to 12 fold a site that is usually empty. They occur in many metamorphic rocks especially those derived from mafic igneous rocks those containing dark coloured ferromagnesian minerals and siliceous dolomites amphiboles also are important constituents in a variety of plutonic. Amphiboles crystallize into two crystal systems monoclinic and orthorhombic.
Amphibolite is a coarse grained metamorphic rock that has amphibole minerals such as the hornblende group as its primary ingredient. Also found as anhedral to strongly irregular grains which in some cases may poikilitically enclose associated minerals. The specimen shown is about two inches five centimeters across.
Amphiboles may be inexperienced black colorless white yellow blue or brown. Amphibole is an crucial institution of usually darkish colored inosilicate minerals forming prism or needlelike crystals composed of double chain sio4 tetrahedra connected at the vertices and normally containing ions of iron and or magnesium in their systems. These chains are bonded to octahedral strips consisting of three regular octahedral sites m1 m2 m3 and one larger 6 to 8 fold site m4.
Green more rarely brown colourless or blue two cleavages intersect at 120 o pleochroic moderate interference colours inclined extinction typically 30 o. To link to this object paste this link in email im or document to embed this object paste this html in website. In chemical composition and general characteristics they are similar to the pyroxenes.
Small 250x250 max medium 500x500 max. Amphibole any of a group of common rock forming silicate minerals. In cross polarized light on left plane polarized light on right.
The common varieties are tschermakitic and magnesio and ferro hornblende. Home rocks and minerals hornblende thin section reference url share. Hornblende thin section view description.