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Metamorphic Aureole, southeastern Qld
    The metamorphic aureole, Mt Coot-tha, west of Brisbane, is an excellent example of the results of contact metamorphism. During contact metamorphism, heat, rather than pressure, is the key cause of rock change (i.e. mineral recrystallisation).
    The heat source here was a granite (igneous) intrusion; heat from the intrusion flowed into the surrounding rock, altering it. The original rock of the area is phyllite - the phyllite in contact with heat from the intrusion was metamorphosed into hornfels. A hornfels 'skin' (aureole) thus formed around the intrusion. The three rock types are visible in the field. While not spectacular, they tell an important landscape story. 

METAMORPHIC
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- Case Study (B)    © C.Grant