Diatomite

Basalt

Diatomite vs Basalt

Diatomite

Basalt

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Diatomite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock which is formed from consolidated diatomaceous earth

Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Germany

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

Georgius Agricola

1.3 Etymology

From diatom + -ite1

From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Clastic or Non-Clastic

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

2.2 Color

Grey, White, Yellow

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Non-Durable

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Soft

Dull and Soft

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Curbing, Whetstones

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Source of calcium

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Alumina Refineries, Animal feed filler, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Creating Artwork, Drawing on blackboards, Fire resistant, Gymnasts, athletes and mountain climbers use for grip, In aquifers, Soil Conditioner, To ignite fire, Used as a filter medium, Used as an insecticide, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums

4 Types

4.1 Types

Not Available

Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite

4.2 Features

Clasts are smooth to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Smooth to touch, Very fine grained rock

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Not Applicable

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Diatomite rock formed from the skeletal remains of single celled plants called diatoms. When diatoms die, their skeletal remains sink to the bottom of lakes and oceans etc. hence forming diatomite deposit.

Basalt forms when lava reaches the Earth's surface near an active volcano. The temperature of lava is between 1100 to 1250° C when it gets to the surface.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Quartz, Sand

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

Ca, NaCl, CaO

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

Contact Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Wind Erosion

Not Available

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6.1.2 Grain Size

Very fine-grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Not Available

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White

White to Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull

Not Available

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

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▶

▼

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

37.40 N/mm²

Rank: 28 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.3-2.4

2.8-3

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.49-2.51 g/cm³

2.9-3.1 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.90 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 12 (Overall)▶

0.84 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 15 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

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▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

England, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom

Iceland

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Colombia

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Tonga, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula

Not Yet Found

Diatomite vs Basalt Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Diatomite and Basalt Reserves. Diatomite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock which is formed from consolidated diatomaceous earth. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Diatomite vs Basalt information and Diatomite vs Basalt characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Diatomite vs Basalt Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Diatomite vs Basalt characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Diatomite and Properties of Basalt. Learn more about Diatomite vs Basalt in the next section. The interior uses of Diatomite include Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Diatomite and Basalt, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Diatomite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Source of calcium and that of Basalt include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone.

More about Diatomite and Basalt

Here you can know more about Diatomite and Basalt. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Diatomite and Basalt consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Diatomite includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Quartz, Sand and mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Diatomite vs Basalt, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Diatomite is available in grey, white, yellow colors whereas, Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Diatomite is Soft and that of Basalt is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Diatomite vs Basalt. The hardness of Diatomite is 1 and that of Basalt is 6. The types of Diatomite are Not Available whereas types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Diatomite is white while that of Basalt is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Diatomite is 0.90 kJ/Kg K and that of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Diatomite is heat resistant whereas Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.