Perhaps the most difficult question in the science of Geology at present, is the explanation of the origin of the metamorphic crystalline rocks which occupy large areas on the surface of the globe. These rocks have been generally regarded as having undergone a vast amount of change in lithological character, to which the term metamorphism has been applied. By local or contact metamorphism is meant the transformation which has been effected in ordinary sedimentary strata by the intrusion of igneous rocks, the extent of which depends on the relative size of the intrusive mass.