Basalt

Schist

Basalt vs Schist

Basalt

Schist

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1 Definition

1.1 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

Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Egypt

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Georgius Agricola

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

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

From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Volcanic

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Glassy, Massive, Porphyritic, Scoriaceous, Vesicular

Foliated, Platy

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey

Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

2.5 Appearance

Dull and Soft

Layered and Shiny

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

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

Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing, Whetstones

Not Yet Used

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

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

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

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

Used in aquariums, Writing Slates

4 Types

4.1 Types

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

Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.

4.2 Features

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

Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

Not Yet Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean, Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka, India

Not Applicable

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

Not Yet Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

Not Applicable

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

Not Yet Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 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.

Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene

Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc

5.2.2 Compound Content

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

CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Available

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

63.5-4

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White to Grey

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Not Available

Shiny

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

37.40 N/mm²NA

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

Slaty

6.1.9 Toughness

2.3

1.5

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.8-32.5-2.9

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.9-3.1 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg KNA

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

India, Russia

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

South Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Iceland

Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil

Brazil, Colombia, Guyana

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Not Yet Found

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland

Basalt vs Schist 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 Schist 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. Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation. 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 Schist information and Basalt vs Schist characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Basalt vs Schist 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 Schist characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Basalt and Properties of Schist. Learn more about Basalt vs Schist in the next section. The interior uses of Basalt include Floor tiles, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Schist include Decorative aggregates, Floor tiles and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Basalt and Schist, 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 Schist include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Roadstone.

More about Basalt and Schist

Here you can know more about Basalt and Schist. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Basalt and Schist consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Basalt includes Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene and mineral content of Schist includes Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Basalt vs Schist, 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, Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors. Appearance of Basalt is Dull and Soft and that of Schist is Layered and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Basalt vs Schist. The hardness of Basalt is 6 and that of Schist 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 Schist are Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.. 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 Schist is white. The specific heat capacity of Basalt is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Schist is Not Available. 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 Schist is impact resistant, pressure resistant, water resistant.