Basalt

Wehrlite

Basalt and Wehrlite

Basalt

Wehrlite

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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

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

History

Origin

Egypt

Discoverer

Georgius Agricola

Alois Wehrle

Etymology

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

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

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

Banded

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull and Soft

Rough and Banded

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, Cobblestones

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

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

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

Ultramafic rock

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, 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.

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.

Composition

Mineral Content

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Pyroxene

Compound Content

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

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

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

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

65.5-6

1 7

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Grain Size

Fine Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

Streak

White to Grey

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Luster

Metallic

Compressive Strength

37.40 N/mm²100.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

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Cleavage

Perfect

Toughness

2.3

2.1

Specific Gravity

2.8-38.4

0 8.4

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Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³2.6-3.7 g/cm³

0 1400

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Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.63 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure 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

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

All about Basalt and Wehrlite Properties

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