Basalt

Oil shale

Basalt vs Oil shale

Basalt

Oil shale

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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

Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted

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 Old English scealu in its base sense of thing that divides or separate

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

Splintery

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull and Soft

Muddy

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing, Whetstones

Industry

Construction Industry

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

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

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

An Oil and Gas Reservoir

Types

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

Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale

Features

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

Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, 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

Present

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.

Oil Shale forms on the beds of seas and lakes and its formation starts with the organic debris settling and accumulating at the bottom of a lake or sea which are then transformed into rock with the help of high temperature and pressure.

Composition

Mineral Content

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides

Compound Content

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

Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

62-3

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Very fine-grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

White to Grey

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull

Compressive Strength

37.40 N/mm²-

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty

Toughness

2.3

2.6

Specific Gravity

2.8-32.2-2.8

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³2.4-2.8 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.39 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

Bangladesh, China, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey

Africa

South Africa

Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Europe

Iceland

Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil

Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia

Basalt vs Oil shale 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 Oil shale 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. Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted. 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 Oil shale information and Basalt vs Oil shale characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Basalt vs Oil shale 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 Oil shale characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Oil shale. Learn more about Basalt vs Oil shale in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Oil shale include . Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Oil shale, 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 Oil shale include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Serves as an oil and gas reservoir rock.

More about Basalt and Oil shale

Here you can know more about Basalt and Oil shale. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Oil shale consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Oil shale includes Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Oil shale, 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, Oil shale is available in black, brown, buff, green, grey, red, yellow colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Oil shale is Muddy. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Oil shale. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Oil shale is 2-3. 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 Oil shale are Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale. 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 Oil shale is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Oil shale is 0.39 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 Oil shale is heat resistant, impact resistant.