Meta. Home | Alpha. | Simp.Class. | Intro. | Glos. | Kinds | Classify | Texture | Keys | Barrovian | Tect. | Self Tests
  
SOAPSTONE #1   (detail)
Soapstone     -   Other specific examples: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4
Return to whole image

Next specimen
Return to:
Alphabetical Listing
Basic Key
Advanced Key
Composition
Talc (magnesium silicate; Mg3Si4O10(OH)2). Apple green, white; greasy feel, hardness = 1
Description
     A nondescript rock greenish with whitish flecks, very soft (H=1), greasy feel, generally homogeneous in appearance (no streaks or color bandings). This close-up is a typical appearance.
     Once one becomes familiar with the rock it is distinctive and easy to recognize, but it is the "feel" of it that is most indicative. Soapstone could be confused with serpentinite, but serpentinite is harder
  

LSF Home | Geology Web Sites | Courses | Geology Home
Last Update: 10/25/00

e-mail: (Fichtels@jmu.edu)