Wehrlite

Basalt

Wehrlite vs Basalt

Wehrlite

Basalt

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites

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

Egypt

1.2.2 Discoverer

Alois Wehrle

Georgius Agricola

1.3 Etymology

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

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

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Plutonic

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Banded

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

2.2 Color

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

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

Rough and Banded

Dull and Soft

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, 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, Cobblestones

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, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Monuments

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

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

Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest 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

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Wehrlite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.

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

Pyroxene

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

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

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

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

Contact 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

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

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92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Not Available

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

5.5-6

6.1.2 Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Irregular

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White

White to Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Metallic

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

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▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

2.1

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

8.4

2.8-3

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.6-3.7 g/cm³

2.9-3.1 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.63 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 21 (Overall)▶

0.84 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 15 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

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▶

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, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey

India, Russia

7.1.2 Africa

Morocco, South Africa

South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela

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

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Wehrlite 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 Wehrlite and Basalt Reserves. Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites. 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 Wehrlite vs Basalt information and Wehrlite vs Basalt characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Wehrlite 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. Wehrlite vs Basalt characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Wehrlite and Properties of Basalt. Learn more about Wehrlite vs Basalt in the next section. The interior uses of Wehrlite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Wehrlite and Basalt, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Wehrlite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cobblestones and that of Basalt include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone.

More about Wehrlite and Basalt

Here you can know more about Wehrlite and Basalt. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Wehrlite and Basalt consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Wehrlite includes Pyroxene and mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Wehrlite vs Basalt, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors whereas, Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors. Appearance of Wehrlite is Rough and Banded and that of Basalt is Dull and Soft. Properties of rock is another aspect for Wehrlite vs Basalt. The hardness of Wehrlite is 5.5-6 and that of Basalt is 6. The types of Wehrlite 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 Wehrlite is white while that of Basalt is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Wehrlite is 0.63 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.Wehrlite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.