This article is about the metamorphic rock. For the sedimentary rock, see Argillite.
Petrogenetic grid for metapelites (click to zoom).[1][2] Each line represents a metamorphic reaction. Metamorphic facies included are: BS = Blueschist facies, EC = Eclogite facies, PP = Prehnite-Pumpellyite facies, GS = Greenschist facies, EA = Epidote-Amphibolite facies, AM = Amphibolite facies, GRA = Granulite facies, UHT = Ultra-High Temperature facies, HAE = Hornfels-Albite-Epidote facies, Hbl = Hornblende-Hornfels facies, HPX = Hornfels-Pyroxene Facies, San = Sanidinite facies
A pelite (from Ancient Greek πηλός (pēlós) 'clay, earth')[3] or metapelite is a metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rock, i.e. mudstone or siltstone. The term was earlier used by geologists to describe a clay-rich, fine-grained clastic sediment or sedimentary rock, i.e. mud or a mudstone, the metamorphosed version of which would technically have been a metapelite. It was equivalent to the now little-used Latin-derived term lutite.[4][5][6] A semipelite is defined in part as having similar chemical composition but being of a crystalloblastic nature.[7]
Pettijohn (1975)[8] gives the following descriptive terms based on grain size, avoiding the use of terms such as clay or argillaceous which carry an implication of chemical composition. The Ancient Greek terms are more commonly used for metamorphosed rocks, and the Latin for unmetamorphosed:
Descriptive size terms
Texture
Common
Ancient Greek
Latin
Coarse
gravel(ly)
psephite (psephitic)
rudite (rudaceous)
Medium
sand(y)
psammite (psammitic)
arenite (arenaceous)
Fine
clay(ey)
pelite(pelitic)
lutite (lutaceous)
^Wei, Chunjing; Powell, Roger (2003). "Phase relations in high-pressure metapelites in the system KFMASH (K2O–FeO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O) with application to natural rocks". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 145 (3): 301–315. doi:10.1007/s00410-003-0454-1. S2CID 129368566.
^ Wei, Chunjing; Powell, Roger; Clarke, Gordon (2004). "Calculated phase equilibria for low‐ and medium‐pressure metapelites in the KFMASH and KMnFMASH systems". Journal of Metamorphic Geology. 22 (5): 495–508. doi:10.1111/j.1525-1314.2004.00530.x. S2CID 128393826.
^πηλός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
^Potter, P.E., J.B. Maynard, and P.J. Depetris (2005) Muds and Mudstones. New York, New York, Springer. 279 pp. ISBN 978-3-540-22157-9
^Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) Glossary of Geology (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. ISBN 0-922152-76-4
^Whitten, D. G. A. (1972). The Penguin Dictionary of Geology. London: Penguin Books. p. 342. ISBN 0140510494.
^British Geological Survey (2023). "Semipelite". BGS Rock Classification Scheme. UK Research and Innovation. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
^Pettijohn, F. J. (1975), Sedimentary Rocks, Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-045191-2.
A pelite (from Ancient Greek πηλός (pēlós) 'clay, earth') or metapelite is a metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rock, i.e. mudstone or siltstone. The...
Pelite OAM (born 12 July 1995) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league player. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Pelite made...
described as a gneissic metabasalt, and a pelite containing abundant staurolite might be described as a staurolite pelite. A metamorphic facies is a set of distinctive...
meaning "leaf". The protolith (or parent rock) for phyllite is shale or pelite; or slate, which in turn came from a shale protolith. Its constituent platy...
siltstone. It is equivalent to the term mudstone and the Greek-derived term pelite. Lutite was first used in 1904 by Grabau, who derived it from lutum, the...
rock List of rock textures – List of rock textural and morphological terms Pelite – Metamorphic rock Whiteschist "schist". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford...
silica with variable alkali and alkaline earth cations. The term pelitic or pelite is often applied to these sediments and rocks. Metamorphism of argillites...
tectonic contact Area Northwestern Scotland Thickness 6–9 km Lithology Primary Semi-pelite, Pelite, Psammite Other Quartzite Type section Named for Loch Ness...
(1950) for a folded supracrustal shallow water succession of quartzites and pelites in the Irumide Belt of Zambia. The "Muva" was first described by A. Gray...
north, Son-Narmada-Tapti in the south. It mainly has quartzite, marble, pelite, greywacke and extinct volcanos exposed in Aravalli-Delhi Orogen. Malani...
River-Tapti River basins in the south. It mainly has quartzite, marble, pelite, greywacke and extinct volcanos exposed in the Aravalli-Delhi Orogen. Malani...
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. 130 (10): 1004–1013. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1090-0241(2004)130:10(1004). ISSN 1090-0241. Pelite v t e...
Harris, N. B. W.; Inger, S. (March 1992). "Trace element modelling of pelite-derived granites". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 110 (1): 46–56...
(originally sandy sediment) and pelite (originally clayey sediment). The index minerals can only grow in the pelite. The highest indicated isograd is...
scoreboard. They went on and scored again right on halftime through Evania Pelite. Australia made an awful start to the second half, kicking the ball out...
In September 2020, Green, along with Australia sevens teammate Evania Pelite, signed for NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) team the New Zealand Warriors...
but the rock is known to be rich in mica, it should be described as a pelite. Slate can be made into roofing slate, a type of roof tile which are installed...
composition, texture, or metamorphic facies. Naming based on texture and a pelite (e.g., shale, mudrock) protolith can be used to define slate and phyllite...
up to 60 meters (200 ft) thick. The lower pelite is about 450 meters (1,480 ft) thick and consists of pelite and psammite beds. The Four Peaks Quartzite...
traditionally as Torridonian. In the southwest and on parts of the west coast are pelites and semipelites of Archaean to Proterozoic age. There are small outcrops...
Global Information