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Breccia vs Limestone


Limestone vs Breccia


Definition

Definition
Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material  
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate  

History
  
  

Origin
England  
New Zealand  

Discoverer
Unknown  
Belsazar Hacquet  

Etymology
From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break  
From lime and stone in late 14th Century  

Class
Sedimentary Rocks  
Sedimentary Rocks  

Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock  
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock  

Family
  
  

Group
Not Applicable  
Not Applicable  

Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  

Texture

Texture
Brecciated, Clastic  
Clastic or Non-Clastic  

Color
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow  
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Gold, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light Grey, Linen, Pink, Red, Rust, Silver, White, Yellow  

Maintenance
Less  
More  

Durability
Durable  
Durable  

Water Resistant
Yes  
No  

Scratch Resistant
Yes  
Yes  

Stain Resistant
Yes  
Yes  

Wind Resistant
Yes  
No  

Acid Resistant
No  
No  

Appearance
Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny  
Rough and Banded  

Uses

Architecture
  
  

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

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

Other Architectural Uses
Curbing  
Curbing  

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Construction Aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone  
Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium  

Medical Industry
Not Yet Used  
In Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry, Medicines and Cosmetics  

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Sculpture  
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines  

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry  
Animal feed filler, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Paper Industry, Raw material for manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, Soil Conditioner, Used in aquariums, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper  

Types

Types
Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia  
Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa  

Features
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch  
Host Rock for Lead, Stalactites and stalagmites are formed from this rock, Zinc and Copper Deposits  

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
Not Yet Used  
Used  

Famous Monuments
Not Applicable  
Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Big Ben in London, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Empire State Building in New York, Khajuraho Temples, India, Kremlin in Moscow, Louvre in Paris, France, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Potala Palace in Lahasa, Tibet, Wailing Wall in Jerusalem  

Sculpture
Used  
Used  

Famous Sculptures
Data Not Available  
Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India  

Pictographs
Not Used  
Used  

Petroglyphs
Not Used  
Used  

Figurines
Used  
Used  

Fossils
Present  
Present  

Formation

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.   
Limestone is a sedimentary rock which is mainly made up of calcium carbonate.  

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica  
Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt  

Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, Ca, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide  
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, MgO  

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
Yes  
No  

Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism  
Not Applicable  

Weathering
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  

Erosion
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion  
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion  

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
7  
3-4  

Grain Size
Medium to Coarse Grained  
Fine Grained  

Fracture
Uneven  
Splintery  

Streak
White  
White  

Porosity
Less Porous  
Less Porous  

Luster
Dull to Pearly  
Dull to Pearly  

Compressive Strength
Not Available  
115.00 N/mm2  
18

Cleavage
Non-Existent  
Non-Existent  

Toughness
Not Available  
1  

Specific Gravity
2.86-2.87  
2.3-2.7  

Transparency
Opaque  
Opaque  

Density
0 g/cm3  
2.3-2.7 g/cm3  

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
Not Available  
0.91 kJ/Kg K  
11

Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant  
Pressure Resistant  

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  

Asia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan  
Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam  

Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa  
Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe  

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

Others
Greenland  
Not Yet Found  

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

North America
Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA  
USA  

South America
Brazil  
Colombia  

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand  
Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Tonga, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula  

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Breccia vs Limestone 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 Breccia and Limestone Reserves. Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. 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 Breccia vs Limestone information and Breccia vs Limestone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Breccia vs Limestone 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. Breccia vs Limestone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Breccia and Properties of Limestone. Learn more about Breccia vs Limestone in the next section. The interior uses of Breccia include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Limestone include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Breccia and Limestone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Breccia in construction industry include As dimension stone, Construction aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone and that of Limestone include Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium.

More about Breccia and Limestone

Here you can know more about Breccia and Limestone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Breccia and Limestone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Breccia includes Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica and mineral content of Limestone includes Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Breccia vs Limestone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Breccia is available in beige, black, blue, brown, buff, green, grey, orange, pink, purple, red, rust, white, yellow colors whereas, Limestone is available in beige, black, blue, brown, cream, gold, green, grey, light green, light grey, linen, pink, red, rust, silver, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Breccia is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny and that of Limestone is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Breccia vs Limestone. The hardness of Breccia is 7 and that of Limestone is 3-4. The types of Breccia are Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia whereas types of Limestone are Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Breccia and Limestone is white. The specific heat capacity of Breccia is Not Available and that of Limestone is 0.91 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Breccia is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Limestone is pressure resistant.

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