Definition
Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material
During the impact melted material forming a breccia containing glass and crystal or lithic fragments together form Suevite rock.
History
Origin
England
Canada, Germany
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break
No etymologies found
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, Opaque Rock
Texture
Brecciated, Clastic
Earthy
Color
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow
Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Pink
Maintenance
Less
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny
Banded
Architecture
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Homes, 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
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Sculpture
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry
As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Source of Magnesia (MgO)
Types
Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia
Phyllosilicates, Calcite
Features
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch
Host Rock for Lead
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.
Suevite is a metamorphic rock consisting partly of melted material, typically forming a breccia containing glass and crystal or lithic fragments, formed during an impact event.
Composition
Mineral Content
Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica
Coesite, Quartz, Stishovite
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
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
-
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion
-
Physical Properties
Hardness
75.5
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Medium to Coarse Grained
Coarse Grained
Fracture
Uneven
Uneven
Streak
White
Light to dark brown
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Pearly
Earthy
Compressive Strength
180.00 N/mm265.00 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
-
Toughness
-
-
Specific Gravity
2.86-2.872.86
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 K0.92 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
-
Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
-
Europe
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
England, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Others
Greenland
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA
-
South America
Brazil
-
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand
-