Gneiss

This gneiss from near Denver, Colorado, formed deep in Earth's crust 1.7 billion years ago. Stress and high temperatures reorganized its minerals into alternating pink and dark gray layers. Notice the very thin pink-and-white vein that cuts across the layers.

Group: Metamorphic
Image Number: 2002-11843
Catalog Number: 116619-3
Time Period: 1.7 billion years
Collected by Museum staff , 1994
Locality: Clear Creek , Colorado