Basalt vs Claystone

Basalt vs Claystone 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 Basalt and Claystone Reserves. Basalt is a common extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of basaltic lava exposed at or very near the surface of Earth. Claystone is a fine-grained, dark gray to pink sedimentary rock which mainly consists of compacted and hardened clay. 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 Basalt vs Claystone information and Basalt vs Claystone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Basalt vs Claystone 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. Basalt vs Claystone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Claystone. Learn more about Basalt vs Claystone in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Claystone include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Claystone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Basalt in construction industry include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Cobblestones, Cutting tool, Rail track ballast, Roadstone and that of Claystone include As a sintering agent in steel industry to process iron ore, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar.

More about Basalt and Claystone

Here you can know more about Basalt and Claystone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Claystone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Claystone includes Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyrite, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Claystone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Basalt is available in black, brown, light to dark grey colors whereas, Claystone is available in black, blue, brown, green, grey, orange, red, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Claystone is Rough and Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Claystone. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Claystone is 3.5-4. The types of Basalt are Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite whereas types of Claystone are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Basalt is white to grey while that of Claystone is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Claystone is 0.92 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Basalt is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Claystone is heat resistant, impact resistant.