Definition
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds
Shoshonite is a basaltic rock, properly a potassic trachyandesite, composed of olivine, augite and plagioclase phenocrysts in a groundmass with calcic plagioclase and sanidine and some dark-colored volcanic glass
Discoverer
John Peter Salley
Iddings
Etymology
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century
From the place of origin called Shoshone riverin Wyoming
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Amorphous, Glassy
Porphyritic
Color
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey
Brown- Black, Dark Brown
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Veined or Pebbled
Dull
Interior Uses
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Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
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As Building Stone, As Facing Stone
Other Architectural Uses
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Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production
As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Sculpture
Commercial Uses
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry
Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork
Types
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite
Intermediate volcanic rock
Features
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel
Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock
Archaeological Significance
Formation
Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment which is buried by sediments such as mud or sand and then compacted to form coal.
Shoshonite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.
Mineral Content
Analcime, Apatite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chlorite, Chromite, Clausthalite, Clay Minerals, Crandallite Group, Dolomite, Feldspar, Galena, Gypsum, Marcasite, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite, Sphalerite, Zircon
Pyroxene
Compound Content
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur
Aluminium Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
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Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
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Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Uneven
Streak
Black
White to Grey
Porosity
Less Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic
Dull
Specific Gravity
1.1-1.4
2.98
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1100-1400 g/cm3
2.9-3 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam
India, Russia
Africa
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania
South Africa
Europe
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom
Iceland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Mexico, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
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