Rhyolite

Tuff

Rhyolite vs Tuff

Rhyolite

Tuff

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Rhyolite is a fine-grained igneous rock which is rich in silica

Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

North America

Italy

1.2.2 Discoverer

Ferdinand von Richthofen

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From German Rhyolit, from Greek rhuax lava stream + lithos stone

From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Aphanitic, Glassy, Porphyritic

Clastic, Pyroclastic

2.2 Color

Grey, White, Light Black

Brown, Grey, Yellow

2.3 Maintenance

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Banded

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Office Buildings

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Not Yet Used

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, for Road Aggregate, Knives

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry

Creating Artwork

4 Types

4.1 Types

Pumice Rocks, Obsidian Rocks, Perlite Rocks, Porphyritic Rocks.

Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.

4.2 Features

Acidic in nature, Available in lots of colors

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

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

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Rhyolite is a felsic extrusive rock and due to its high silica content, rhyolite lava is very viscous and is volcanic equivalent of granite.

Tuff is formed when large masses of ash and sand which are mixed with hot gases are ejected by a volcano and avalanche rapidly down its slopes.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Calcite, Chlorite

5.2.2 Compound Content

Ca, Fe, Potassium Oxide, Mg, Potassium, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium

Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-7

4-6

6.1.2 Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Sub-conchoidal

Uneven

6.1.4 Streak

Colorless

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Earthy

Vitreous to Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

140.00 N/mm²

Rank: 15 (Overall)▶

243.80 N/mm²

Rank: 5 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

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▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.65-2.67

2.73

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.4-2.6 g/cm³

1-1.8 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

0.20 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 25 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen

7.1.2 Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda

7.1.3 Europe

Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain

France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

7.2.2 South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

Rhyolite vs Tuff 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 Rhyolite and Tuff Reserves. Rhyolite is a fine-grained igneous rock which is rich in silica. Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. 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 Rhyolite vs Tuff information and Rhyolite vs Tuff characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Rhyolite vs Tuff 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. Rhyolite vs Tuff characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Rhyolite and Properties of Tuff. Learn more about Rhyolite vs Tuff in the next section. The interior uses of Rhyolite include Decorative aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Tuff include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Rhyolite and Tuff, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Rhyolite in construction industry include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, For road aggregate, Knives and that of Tuff include Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate.

More about Rhyolite and Tuff

Here you can know more about Rhyolite and Tuff. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Rhyolite and Tuff consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Rhyolite includes Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Tuff includes Calcite, Chlorite. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Rhyolite vs Tuff, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Rhyolite is available in grey, white, light black colors whereas, Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors. Appearance of Rhyolite is Banded and that of Tuff is Dull, Vesicular and Foilated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Rhyolite vs Tuff. The hardness of Rhyolite is 6-7 and that of Tuff is 4-6. The types of Rhyolite are Pumice Rocks, Obsidian Rocks, Perlite Rocks, Porphyritic Rocks. whereas types of Tuff are Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Rhyolite is colorless while that of Tuff is white. The specific heat capacity of Rhyolite is Not Available and that of Tuff is 0.20 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Rhyolite is heat resistant, wear resistant whereas Tuff is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.