Chert

Amphibolite

Chert vs Amphibolite

Chert

Amphibolite

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture

Amphibolite can be defined as a granular metamorphic rock which mainly consist of hornblende and plagioclase

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

Alexandre Brongniart

1.3 Etymology

From flint-like quartz, 1670s, of unknown origin- a local term, which has been taken into geological use

From Amphibole + -ite

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Banded, Rough

Banded, Foliated, Massive

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White

Black, Brown, Green, Grey

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Glassy or Pearly

Foliated

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

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

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, Spear Points

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cobblestones, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Landscaping, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Roadstone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, In fire-starting tools, Jewelry, To ignite fire, Used in flintlock firearms

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

4 Types

4.1 Types

Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter

Hornblendite

4.2 Features

Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates, Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate

Clasts are smooth to touch, Matrix variable, Surfaces are often shiny

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Chert forms when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that become limestone or chalk. The chert formation can be either of chemical or biological origin.

Amphibolite is a coarse-grained metamorphic rock which forms by metamorphism of mafic igneous rocks like basalt and gabbro or from the metamorphism of clay-rich sedimentary rocks like marl or graywacke.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Quartz, Silicon

Amphibole, Andalusite, Biotite, Calcite, Epidote, Garnet, Hornblade, Kyanite, Magnetite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Staurolite, Wollastonite

5.2.2 Compound Content

Silicon Dioxide

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

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6.5-7

6-7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Very fine-grained

Medium to Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Uneven, Splintery or Conchoidal

Irregular to Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

White

White to Grey

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Waxy and Dull

Vitreous to Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

450.00 N/mm²

Rank: 1 (Overall)▶

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Irregular

6.1.9 Toughness

1.5

2.3

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.5-2.8

2.5

6.1.11 Transparency

Translucent to Opaque

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.7 g/cm³

2.85-3.07 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.74 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 19 (Overall)▶

Not Available

Rank: N/A (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Iran, Japan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

Russia, Turkey

7.1.2 Africa

Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Germany, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland

7.1.4 Others

Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Bolivia, Brazil

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

South Australia, Western Australia

Chert vs Amphibolite 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 Chert and Amphibolite Reserves. Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture. Amphibolite can be defined as a granular metamorphic rock which mainly consist of hornblende and plagioclase. 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 Chert vs Amphibolite information and Chert vs Amphibolite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Chert vs Amphibolite 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. Chert vs Amphibolite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Chert and Properties of Amphibolite. Learn more about Chert vs Amphibolite in the next section. The interior uses of Chert include Decorative aggregates and Homes whereas the interior uses of Amphibolite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Chert and Amphibolite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Chert in construction industry include Arrowheads, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, Spear points and that of Amphibolite include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cobblestones, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Landscaping, Production of glass and ceramics, Roadstone.

More about Chert and Amphibolite

Here you can know more about Chert and Amphibolite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Chert and Amphibolite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Chert includes Quartz, Silicon and mineral content of Amphibolite includes Amphibole, Andalusite, Biotite, Calcite, Epidote, Garnet, Hornblade, Kyanite, Magnetite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Staurolite, Wollastonite. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Chert vs Amphibolite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Chert is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, white colors whereas, Amphibolite is available in black, brown, green, grey colors. Appearance of Chert is Glassy or Pearly and that of Amphibolite is Foliated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Chert vs Amphibolite. The hardness of Chert is 6.5-7 and that of Amphibolite is 6-7. The types of Chert are Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter whereas types of Amphibolite are Hornblendite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Chert is white while that of Amphibolite is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Chert is 0.74 kJ/Kg K and that of Amphibolite is Not Available. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Chert is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Amphibolite is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.