Hornfels often retains the stratification, large-scale geometry, and also some textural characteristics of the protolith. The changes of contact metamorphism that convert rocks to hornfels can include recrystallization, cementation, silicification, partial melting, and more. The result is often a dense, hard, fine-grained rock that is generally homogenous and exhibits a semi-conchoidal fracture. Hornfels can be…

Hornfels is not a rock that is “deposited”. Instead it is a rock type that forms when an existing rock is metamorphosed. The original rock that was metamorphosed is usually referred to as the “parent rock” or “protolith”. A variety of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks can be the protolith of hornfels. Common protoliths of hornfels include…

Hornfels is a fine-grained metamorphic rock that was subjected to the heat of contact metamorphism at a shallow depth. It was “baked” by heat conducted from a nearby magma chamber, sill, dike, or lava flow. Common temperatures for the formation of hornfels range from about 1300 to 1450 degrees Fahrenheit (700 to 800 degrees Celsius). Because directed pressure does not play a…