Gritstone

Basalt

Gritstone vs Basalt

Gritstone

Basalt

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone

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

Pennines, England

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

J.J. Ferber

Georgius Agricola

1.3 Etymology

From Grit + Stone

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, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Earthy

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

2.2 Color

Beige, Black, Brown, Colourless, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

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

Layered and Foliated

Dull and Soft

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, 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

Construction Aggregate, Roadstone

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

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones

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

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough 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

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

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

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Gritstone is a type of sedimentary rock which was formed on the floors of wide river deltas where the grit deposits were laid down, with every tide or flood dumping another layer of sediment.

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 Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide

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

Not Available

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

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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▶

▼

70.00 N/mm²

Rank: 24 (Overall)▶

37.40 N/mm²

Rank: 28 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.250

2.8-3

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.2 g/cm³

2.9-3.1 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.92 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 10 (Overall)▶

0.84 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 15 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Iceland

7.1.4 Others

Greenland

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Gritstone 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 Gritstone and Basalt Reserves. Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. 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 Gritstone vs Basalt information and Gritstone vs Basalt characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Gritstone 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. Gritstone vs Basalt characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Gritstone and Properties of Basalt. Learn more about Gritstone vs Basalt in the next section. The interior uses of Gritstone include Countertops, 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 Gritstone and Basalt, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Gritstone in construction industry include Construction aggregate, Roadstone and that of Basalt include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone.

More about Gritstone and Basalt

Here you can know more about Gritstone and Basalt. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Gritstone and Basalt consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Gritstone includes Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz 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 Gritstone vs Basalt, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Gritstone is available in beige, black, brown, colourless, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors whereas, Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Gritstone is Layered and Foliated and that of Basalt is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Gritstone vs Basalt. The hardness of Gritstone is 6-7 and that of Basalt is 6. The types of Gritstone 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 Gritstone is white while that of Basalt is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Gritstone is 0.92 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.Gritstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.