Blueschist

Wehrlite

Blueschist and Wehrlite

Blueschist

Wehrlite

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Definition

Blueschist is a metamorphic rock which is generally blue in color and is formed under conditions of high pressure and low temperature

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites

History

Origin

USA

Egypt

Discoverer

Edgar Bailey

Alois Wehrle

Etymology

From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Foliated

Banded

Color

Blue, Bluish - Grey, Purple, Shades of Blue

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull and Banded

Rough and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Curling, Tombstones

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

Metamorphic rock

Ultramafic rock

Features

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

Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Blueschist forms due to the metamorphism of basalt and other rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures and approximately corresponding to a depth of 15 to 30 kilometers and 200 to 500 °C.

Wehrlite 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

Albite, Chlorite, Epidote, Garnet, Glaucophane, Lawsonite, Muscovite or Illite, Quartz

Pyroxene

Compound Content

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

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

3.5-45.5-6

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine to Medium Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

Streak

White to Grey

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Dull

Metallic

Compressive Strength

220.00 N/mm²100.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty

Perfect

Toughness

1.5

2.1

Specific Gravity

3-3.28.4

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm³2.6-3.7 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.63 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Japan, Turkey

China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey

Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa

Morocco, South Africa

Europe

France, Greece, Iceland

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand

New Zealand, Western Australia

All about Blueschist and Wehrlite Properties

Know all about Blueschist and Wehrlite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Blueschist belongs to Metamorphic Rocks while Wehrlite belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Blueschist is Foliated whereas that of Wehrlite is Banded. Blueschist appears Dull and Banded and Wehrlite appears Rough and Banded. The luster of Blueschist is dull while that of Wehrlite is metallic. Blueschist is available in blue, bluish - grey, purple, shades of blue colors whereas Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors. The commercial uses of Blueschist are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork, curling, tombstones and that of Wehrlite are cemetery markers, creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry.