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
Jaspillite is an iron rich chemically formed rock which is common in banded iron formation rocks
Origin
Egypt
Western Australia, Minnesota
Discoverer
Georgius Agricola
Unknown
Etymology
From Late Latin Basaltes (variant of basanites ), very hard stone, which was imported from Ancient Greek Basanites
From Jaspilite (Mineral), a compact siliceous rock which resembles jasper
Class
Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Group
Volcanic
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular
Banded, Trellis
Color
Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey
Red, Reddish Brown
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Dull and Soft
Banded and Glassy
Interior Uses
Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing, Whetstones
Curbing
Construction Industry
Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Cutting Tool, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone
As a Flux in the Production of Steel and Pig Iron, As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments
Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Used in aquariums
Creating Artwork, Jewelry
Types
Alkaline Basalt, Boninite, High Alumina Basalt, Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), Tholeiitic Basalt, Basaltic trachyandesite, Mugearite and Shoshonite
Algoma-type , Lake Superior-type and Superior-type
Features
Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock
Is one of the oldest rock
Archaeological Significance
Famous Monuments
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India
Data Not Available
Sculpture
Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Sculptures
Data Not Available
Not Applicable
Figurines
Used
Not Yet Used
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.
Jaspillite is a type of sedimentary rock which is formed by the compaction and sedimentation of pieces of broken or weathered rocks and minerals.
Mineral Content
Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene
Coesite, Quartz, Sand
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Fe, Iron(III) Oxide, Silicon Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Contact Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Not Available
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Grain Size
Fine Grained
Large and Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Conchoidal
Streak
White to Grey
White
Porosity
Less Porous
Very Less Porous
Luster
Not Available
Earthy
Cleavage
Not Available
Imperfect
Toughness
2.3
Not Available
Specific Gravity
2.8-3
5.0-5.3
Transparency
Opaque
Translucent to Opaque
Density
2.9-3.1 g/cm3
0-5.7 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
India, Russia
Russia
Africa
South Africa
Not Yet Found
Others
Not Yet Found
Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
Not Yet Found
Western Australia
Basalt vs Jaspillite 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 Jaspillite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Jaspillite. Learn more about Basalt vs Jaspillite in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Jaspillite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Jaspillite, 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 Jaspillite include As a flux in the production of steel and pig iron, As a sintering agent in steel industry to process iron ore, As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories.
More about Basalt and Jaspillite
Here you can know more about Basalt and Jaspillite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Jaspillite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Jaspillite includes Coesite, Quartz, Sand. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Jaspillite, 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, Jaspillite is available in red, reddish brown colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Jaspillite is Banded and Glassy. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Jaspillite. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Jaspillite is 3. 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 Jaspillite are Algoma-type , Lake Superior-type and Superior-type. 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 Jaspillite is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Jaspillite is 3.20 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 Jaspillite is heat resistant, impact resistant, wear resistant.