Small Reptile/Juvenile Reversible Basking Platform/Rock made of Natural Authentic Phyllite Schist embedded w/Garnets! Specs: 6″ x 5.5″ x 1.5″ This is the exact rock that you will receive. (Inventory # 1004) Total Weight: 1 pound 5 oz. • The fine grain and foliation texture of Phyllite Schist allows better grip for your little reptile. • The flat shape of Phyllite Schist, caused by the earth’s compression along a fault line, makes the perfect backing platform. Reversible for your pet’s preference.• The natural coloration of Phyllite Schist, a mix of metallic grays, silvers, reds, rusts, tans, greens, and more allow your reptile to blend in as in nature. • The dense compressed Phyllite Schist, naturally retains heat better than resin (fake man made rock material). • Phyllite Schist, displays a micaceous luster making it a naturally shimmery and an attractive terrarium decor. • The gem Garnet, ‘The Stone of Health’, is a symbol of passion and health and are embedded throughout the Phyllite Schist,. • Each basking rock is unique, and one of a kind! All stones are custom selected from fields on our property, with falls along a North Carolina fault line… These Fields are FULL of SCHIST! Facts about Phyllite Formation Phyllite is one of four types of rock that are the result of the Barrovian metamorphism of its protolith, or parent rock, shale. Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock made up of silt and clay particles. When shale is subjected to the tectonic pressures of mountain-building events, it is metamorphosed into slate, phyllite, schist and gneiss. Therefore, slate is the first-formed metamorphic rock from shale and further pressures will metamorphose the slate into phyllite. The four metamorphic rocks to be formed from shale all appear very different. The differences between them are due to the varying degrees of heat and pressure undergone by the protolith. Composition Phyllite is primarily composed of quartz, sericite mica, and chlorite. Because of the relatively low pressures exerted upon its parent rock, some of the original mineralogy and sedimentary nature of the rock may be maintained after it has metamorphosed. Phyllite crystals are larger than those of slate, but smaller than those of schist. Minute crystals of graphite and mica give phyllite a distinctive sheen that may be golden in color. Coloration The most common colors for Phyllite are green, gray or red. It has an appearance that is very similar to slate, but its foliation often creates a crinkly or wavy surface. Phyllite displays a micaceous luster which further distinguishes it from slate. Origination Phyllite forms in areas of regional metamorphism where where beds of sedimentary rocks have been subjected to moderate heat and compression by the colliding of continental plates and mountain-building events, and along fault lines.This Phyllite originates from near a fault line in the foothills of North Carolina, near the Sauratown Mountains. Listed as ‘new’ as this rock has not been used for any purpose. Was recently harvested from where it was formed over 1 Billion years ago.