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What is Marble and how is it formed?

Marble is a rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, with the maximum concentration of calcite or dolomite. Marble begins life as sedimentary rock known as limestone, which is a soft stone made primarily of calcite. Sedimentary rock is formed at or near the Earth’s surface by the accumulation and lithification of sediment (detrital rock).

Under heat and pressure caused by magma or the tectonic plates, this limestone begins to recrystallize, changing the texture of the rock and causing the calcite crystals to grow and interlock. Most marbles form at convergent plate boundaries. A large part of earth’s crust is exposed to metamorphism.