Diorite

Wehrlite

Diorite vs Wehrlite

Diorite

Wehrlite

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Definition

Diorite is a grey to dark-grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar,biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites

History

Origin

Egypt

Discoverer

Unknown

Alois Wehrle

Etymology

From early 19th century coined in French, formed irregularly from Greek diorizein distinguish

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Phaneritic

Banded

Color

Black, Brown, Light to Dark Grey, White

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Shiny

Rough and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork, Curling

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

Plagioclase Diorite and Quartz Diorite

Ultramafic rock

Features

Typically speckled black and white.

Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Diorite is a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock which contains large interlocking and randomly oriented crystals and forms when molten lava does not reach the Earth’s surface and cools down in the Earth’s crust.

Wehrlite 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.

Composition

Mineral Content

Albite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Muscovite or Illite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Titanite, Zircon

Pyroxene

Compound Content

Silicon Dioxide

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-75.5-6

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Coarse Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Irregular

Streak

Bluish Black

White

Porosity

Very Less Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Shiny

Metallic

Compressive Strength

225.00 N/mm²100.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect

Toughness

2.1

Specific Gravity

2.8-38.4

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.8-3 g/cm³2.6-3.7 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.63 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey

Africa

Egypt

Morocco, South Africa

Europe

Finland, Germany, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA

Canada, USA

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

Diorite vs Wehrlite 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 Diorite and Wehrlite Reserves. Diorite is a grey to dark-grey intermediate intrusive igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar,biotite, hornblende, and pyroxene. Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites. 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 Diorite vs Wehrlite information and Diorite vs Wehrlite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Diorite vs Wehrlite 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. Diorite vs Wehrlite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Diorite and Properties of Wehrlite. Learn more about Diorite vs Wehrlite in the next section. The interior uses of Diorite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Wehrlite include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Diorite and Wehrlite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Diorite in construction industry include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate and that of Wehrlite include As dimension stone, Cobblestones.

More about Diorite and Wehrlite

Here you can know more about Diorite and Wehrlite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Diorite and Wehrlite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Diorite includes Albite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Muscovite or Illite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz, Sulfides, Titanite, Zircon and mineral content of Wehrlite includes Pyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Diorite vs Wehrlite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Diorite is available in black, brown, light to dark grey, white colors whereas, Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors. Appearance of Diorite is Shiny and that of Wehrlite is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Diorite vs Wehrlite. The hardness of Diorite is 6-7 and that of Wehrlite is 5.5-6. The types of Diorite are Plagioclase Diorite and Quartz Diorite whereas types of Wehrlite are Ultramafic rock. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Diorite is bluish black while that of Wehrlite is white. The specific heat capacity of Diorite is 0.84 kJ/Kg K and that of Wehrlite is 0.63 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Diorite is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Wehrlite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant.