Metamorphic rocks that developed by recrystallization on a regional scale over large areas, hundreds of km2 in extent, are the products of regional metamorphism. Three genetic types are distinguished: (1) regional dynamothermal metamorphism, (2) regional burial metamorphism, and (3) regional geothermal metamorphism. The first is recognized in eroded orogenic or mobile belts of various ages in which phyllites, schists, gneisses, migmatites, and granulites show the clear imprint of increased temperatures with the widespread development of penetrative deformation fabrics, consequent upon orogenic tectonism and often accompanied by the intrusion of magma. Regional burial metamorphism may be associated with ocean-trench environments and subduction processes or it may bear no direct relationship to orogenesis or to magmatic intrusions. Deep burial of sedimentary volcanic rocks during the development of geosynclines or continental basins may eventually give rise to limited recrystallization...
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© 1989 Van Nostrand Reinhold
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Saggerson, E.P. (1989). Regional metamorphism . In: Petrology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30845-8_213
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