Bedrock Base Map Location 6
These stunning white metamorphic rocks are comprised of oriented plate-like clear to white crystals of the mineral muscovite, associated here with large red garnets. The muscovite seen here formed from the burial of clay, shale, and mudstone approximately 10 miles under mountains. High pressure and temperature exceeding 750°F caused the rocks to recrystallize into the large, aligned muscovite crystals. The adjacent rocks feature a black mineral called biotite, which had a similar origin but with the addition of parent rocks containing high amounts of iron.
Bedrock near Timiskaming, Quebec | Proterozoic | 1.0 to 1.6 billion years old