Crossword clues for hornfels
Wiktionary
n. Any of a series of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and indurated by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable.
WordNet
n. a fine-grained metamorphic rock formed by the action of heat on clay rocks [syn: hornstone]
Wikipedia
Hornfels ( German, meaning "hornstone") is called so because of its exceptional toughness and texture both reminiscent of animal horns. These properties are due to fine grained non-aligned crystals with platy or prismatic habits. Hornfels is the group designation for a series of contact metamorphic rocks that have been baked and indurated by the heat of intrusive igneous masses and have been rendered massive, hard, splintery, and in some cases exceedingly tough and durable. Hornfels rocks were referred to by miners in northern England as whetstones.
Most hornfels are fine-grained, and while the original rocks (such as sandstone, shale, slate, limestone and diabase) may have been more or less fissile owing to the presence of bedding or cleavage planes, this structure is effaced or rendered inoperative in the hornfels. Though they may show banding, due to bedding, etc., they break across this as readily as along it; in fact, they tend to separate into cubical fragments rather than into thin plates.
The most common hornfels (the biotite hornfels) are dark-brown to black with a somewhat velvety luster owing to the abundance of small crystals of shining black mica. The lime hornfels are often white, yellow, pale-green, brown and other colors. Green and dark-green are the prevalent tints of the hornfels produced by the alteration of igneous rocks. Although for the most part the constituent grains are too small to be determined by the unaided eye, there are often larger crystals of cordierite, garnet or andalusite scattered through the fine matrix, and these may become very prominent on the weathered faces of the rock.
Usage examples of "hornfels".
The murder, he thought, smiling, would come later, when history would call Hornfels death a traitors execution.
Once Stanach found Piper, Stormblade would be magically returned to Thorbardin, and in Hornfels hand, before Kelida or Tyorl had a chance to know it was gone.
Brek was surprised that Hornfels pet mage had survived under Wulfens guard.
He was the thanes man, bone and blood, and to be called Hornfels was no disgrace at all.
He listened to the wash of his own blood in his lungs and seemed to hear Hornfels bemused sigh again.
Hed been reading his death warrant, glittering in the deeps of the Gray Heralds one eye, since Hornfels pet mage had vanished yesterday.
Plains, laid a slim hand on the hunters arm as she heard Hornfels approach.
For Hornfels sake, for his friend seemed to value this Plainswoman, this so-called cleric of Mesalax, Gneiss tried for a more formal tone.
None of them forgot for an instant that Gneiss had given them charge of Hornfels safety.
Stanachs first choice, but the Theiwar guard theyd overpowered in a cold dark corridor near the dragons lair had responded to their questions about Realgar and his plans with only a hard laugh and a boast he seemed happy to make: Hornfels dead on Northgate now!
Whatever Realgar plans, he cant possibly carry out Hornfels murder in front of two full watches.
There was enough light for Kelida to see that Realgar had indeed attempted Hornfels assassination during the change of the Guard of Watch, and that for a very good reason.
His back to Hornfels he kept off all comers with a wolfhounds valiant ferocity.
The guards of the black and silver, though not as many as before, still outnumbered Hornfels defenders.
He counted twenty dead from among his own guard, thirty from Hornfels defenders.