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
Pantellerite is a peralkaline rhyolite. It has a higher iron and lower aluminium composition than comendite
History
Origin
Egypt
Strait of sicily
Discoverer
Georgius Agricola
Unknown
Etymology
From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites
From Pantelleria, a volcanic island in the Strait of Sicily
Class
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Family
Group
Volcanic
Volcanic
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular
Eutaxitic
Color
Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey
Dark Greenish - Grey
Maintenance
More
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Dull and Soft
Layered and Foliated
Architecture
Interior Uses
Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens
-
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
-
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing, Whetstones
-
Industry
Construction Industry
Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone
-
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments
Artifacts, Sculpture
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums
Creating Artwork
Types
Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite
Pantelleritic Ignimbrite
Features
Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock
High Fe content
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
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.
Pantellerite 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.
Composition
Mineral Content
Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene
Amphibole, Feldspar, Ilmenite
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Al, Fe
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
Contact Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
-
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
66-7
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Fine Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Sub-conchoidal
Streak
White to Grey
-
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
-
Earthy
Compressive Strength
37.40 N/mm2210.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
Conchoidal
Toughness
2.3
2
Specific Gravity
2.8-3-9999
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent to Opaque
Density
2.9-3.1 g/cm3-9999 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.84 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
India, Russia
China, India
Africa
South Africa
Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria
Europe
Iceland
Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
Others
-
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
-
Central Australia, Queensland, Western Australia