Basalt

Dunite

Basalt and Dunite

Basalt

Dunite

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Definition

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

Dunite is a green to brownish coarse-grained igneous rock mainly consisting of olivine

History

Origin

Egypt

New Zealand

Discoverer

Georgius Agricola

Ferdinand von Hochstetter

Etymology

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

From the name of Dun Mountain, New Zealand, + -ite1

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

Phaneritic

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Dark Greenish - Grey

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull and Soft

Rough and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing, Whetstones

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

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

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Source of Chromite, Platinum, Nickel and Garnet, Source of Diamonds

Types

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

Dunite

Features

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

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

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

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

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

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.

Dunite is a plutonic ultramafic igneous rock consisting almost m olivine. It can be formed in two ways.

Composition

Mineral Content

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Amphibole, Chromite, Garnet, Magnesium, Olivine, Phlogopite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Compound Content

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

Ca, CaO, Fe, Potassium, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium, Titanium Dioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

63.5-4

1 7

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Grain Size

Fine Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

Streak

White to Grey

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Luster

Shiny

Compressive Strength

37.40 N/mm²107.55 N/mm²

0.15 450

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Cleavage

Toughness

2.3

2.1

Specific Gravity

2.8-33-3.01

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³2.84-2.85 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K1.25 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

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

Africa

South Africa

Morocco, South Africa

Europe

Iceland

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

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

All about Basalt and Dunite Properties

Know all about Basalt and Dunite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Basalt and Dunite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Basalt is Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular whereas that of Dunite is Phaneritic. Basalt appears Dull and Soft and Dunite appears Rough and Shiny. The luster of Basalt is while that of Dunite is shiny. Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors whereas Dunite is available in dark greenish - grey colors. The commercial uses of Basalt are an oil and gas reservoir, commemorative tablets, creating artwork, used in aquariums and that of Dunite are creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry, source of chromite, platinum, nickel and garnet, source of diamonds.