Basalt

Felsite

Basalt vs Felsite

Basalt

Felsite

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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

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

History

Origin

Egypt

Discoverer

Georgius Agricola

Unknown

Etymology

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

From English feldspar and -ite

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

Arborescent Patterned, Vitreous

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Red, Tan, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull and Soft

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

Paving Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing, Whetstones

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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

Arrowheads, Cutting Tool, Knives, Scrapers, Spear Points

Medical Industry

Surgery

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

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

Mirror, Jewelry

Types

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

Igneous rock

Features

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

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch, Splintery, Very fine grained 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.

Felsite 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

Feldspar, Iron Oxides

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

Burial 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, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

65-5.5

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

White to Grey

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Very Less Porous

Luster

Vitreous

Compressive Strength

37.40 N/mm²0.15 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

2.3

Specific Gravity

2.8-32.6-2.7

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent

Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³2.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

Afghanistan, Indonesia, Japan, Russia

Africa

South Africa

Kenya

Europe

Iceland

Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Turkey

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Mexico, USA

South America

Brazil

Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Peru

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand

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.

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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 Igneous rock. 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.