Basalt vs Felsite

Basalt vs Felsite 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 Felsite 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. Felsite is a very fine grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals and light colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition. 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 Felsite information and Basalt vs Felsite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Basalt vs Felsite 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 Felsite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Felsite. Learn more about Basalt vs Felsite in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Felsite include Decorative aggregates, Flooring and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Felsite, 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 Felsite include Arrowheads, Cutting tool, Knives, Scrapers, Spear points.

More about Basalt and Felsite

Here you can know more about Basalt and Felsite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Felsite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Felsite includes Feldspar, Iron Oxides. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Felsite, 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, Felsite is available in black, blue, brown, green, orange, red, tan, yellow colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Felsite is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Felsite. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Felsite is 5-5.5. 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 Felsite 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 Felsite is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Felsite 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 Felsite is heat resistant, impact resistant.