A scanning electron microscope has been used to observe the microfabric changes that are brought about by weathering in a quartz-mica schist. A large morphological variety is revealed from rock to soil Alteration of the biotites and feldspars causes the tightly packed rock fabric to open up into a porous fabric. The fabrics of the saprolite and pedoplasmation zone consist of aggregates of tubular halloysite, euhedral gibbsite and goethite discoids. The resultant soil material, however, is dominated by platy kaolinite showing face-to-face packing.