Definition
Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
History
Origin
England
-
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Family
Group
-
-
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Brecciated, Clastic
Foliated, Platy
Color
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny
Layered and Shiny
Architecture
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
-
Industry
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Construction Aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Sculpture
Artifacts
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
Types
Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
Features
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
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.
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
Composition
Mineral Content
Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, Ca, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism
-
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
73.5-4
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Uneven
Conchoidal
Streak
White
White
Porosity
Less Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull to Pearly
Shiny
Compressive Strength
180.00 N/mm2150.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
Slaty
Toughness
-
1.5
Specific Gravity
2.86-2.872.5-2.9
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
0 g/cm32.8-2.9 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.84 kJ/Kg K0.70 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Others
Greenland
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
South America
Brazil
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland