Breccia

Ignimbrite

Breccia and Ignimbrite

Breccia

Ignimbrite

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Definition

Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material

Ignimbrite is a volcanic rock consisting mainly of pumice fragments, formed by the consolidation of material deposited by pyroclastic flows

History

Origin

England

New Zealand

Discoverer

Unknown

Patrick Marshall

Etymology

From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break

From Latin ignis fire + imber, imbr- shower of rain, storm cloud + -ite

Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Brecciated, Clastic

Aphanitic

Color

Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow

Beige, Black, Brown, Grey, Pink, White

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Construction Aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

Types

Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia

Pyroclastic rock

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Present

Absent

Formation

Breccia is a clastic sedimentary rock which is composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock which are cemented together by a fine-grained matrix and it forms where broken, angular fragments of rock or mineral debris accumulate.

Ignimbrites are formed from very poorly sorted mixture of volcanic ash or tuff and pumice lapilli, commonly with scattered lithic fragments.

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica

Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Hematite, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Olivine, Pyroxene, Quartz

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, Ca, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

Ca, NaCl

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

74-6

1 7

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Grain Size

Medium to Coarse Grained

Fine Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Streak

White

Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

Luster

Dull to Pearly

Vitreous to Dull

Compressive Strength

180.00 N/mm²243.80 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.86-2.872.73

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

0 g/cm³1-1.8 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.20 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen

Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Europe

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

Others

Greenland

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

South America

Brazil

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand

Central Australia, Western Australia

All about Breccia and Ignimbrite Properties

Know all about Breccia and Ignimbrite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Breccia belongs to Sedimentary Rocks while Ignimbrite belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Breccia is Brecciated, Clastic whereas that of Ignimbrite is Aphanitic. Breccia appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny and Ignimbrite appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated. The luster of Breccia is dull to pearly while that of Ignimbrite is vitreous to dull. Breccia and Ignimbrite are available in beige, black, blue, brown, buff, green, grey, orange, pink, purple, red, rust, white, yellow colors. The commercial uses of Breccia are creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry and that of Ignimbrite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork.