Fabric (geology)

This article is about the geological term. For other uses, see Fabric (disambiguation).
Primary fabric in anorthosite intrusion, Rogaland, Norway
Deformed waterlain volcanic sediments. Primary fabric (bedding) shown by abrupt change in clast size, secondary fabric shown by penetrative S-fabric, cleavage, in fine-grained rock, and by shape fabric in deformed volcanic clasts. Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia

In geology, a rock's fabric describes the spatial and geometric configuration of all the elements that make it up.[1][2] In sedimentary rocks, the fabric developed depends on the depositional environment and can provide information on current directions at the time of deposition. In structural geology, fabrics may provide information on both the orientation and magnitude of the strains that have affected a particular piece of deformed rock.

  1. ^ Hobbs BE, Means WD, & Williams PF. (1976). An outline of structural geology. John Wiley & sons, p.73.
  2. ^ Twiss RJ and Moores EM. (2007). Structural Geology, 2nd Edition, WH Freeman and Co., p.497.