Gneiss

metamorphic rock · heat and pressure · banded texture

Made by heat and pressure. Gneiss forms when existing rocks get squeezed and heated deep underground, with temperatures hotter than boiling water and pressures thousands of times stronger than normal air pressure.

Beautiful striped patterns. Gneiss has alternating bands of light and dark colors that look like nature painted stripes through the rock, created by minerals arranging themselves as the rock transforms.

Made from other rocks. Gneiss starts as either igneous rocks (formed from cooled lava) or sedimentary rocks (formed from compressed layers), which then get cooked and crushed into something completely new.

Super common worldwide. Gneiss is one of the most abundant metamorphic rocks on Earth and makes up large parts of continental crust that has been pushed deep and heated.

Tough and hard. Because gneiss forms under such extreme conditions, it becomes very hard and durable, which is why it has been used as a building and decorative stone for thousands of years.