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Granite
Granite

Amphibolite
Amphibolite



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Granite vs Amphibolite

Definition

Definition

Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone
Amphibolite can be defined as a granular metamorphic rock which mainly consist of hornblende and plagioclase

History

Origin

-
-

Discoverer

Alexander von Humboldt
Alexandre Brongniart

Etymology

From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum
From Amphibole + -ite

Class

Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic
-

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Texture

Granular, Phaneritic
Banded, Foliated, Massive

Color

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White
Black, Brown, Green, Grey

Maintenance

More
Less

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled
Foliated

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Bridges, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Near Swimming Pools, Office Buildings, Resorts
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Office Buildings

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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

Medical Industry

-
-

Antiquity Uses

Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Artifacts, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

Types

Types

Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite
Hornblendite

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock
Clasts are smooth to touch, Matrix variable, Surfaces are often shiny

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

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-

Famous Monuments

Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Blue Domed Church in Santorini, Greece, Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, UK, Ephesus in Turkey, Georgia Guidestones in Georgia, US, Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Khajuraho Temples, India, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India, Mysore Palace in Karnataka, India, Signers Monument in Augusta, Georgia, Statue of Liberty in New York, USA, Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Tower Bridge in London, Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, US, Washington Monument, US
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Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

Avukana Buddha Statue in Sri Lanka, Lincoln Memorial in America, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US, The Colossal Red Granite Statue of Amenhotep III in Karnak, Egypt
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Pictographs

-
-

Petroglyphs

-
-

Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Absent
Absent

Formation

Formation

Granite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard, crystalline and is visibly homogeneous in texture and forms by melting of continental rocks
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.

Composition

Mineral Content

Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz
Amphibole, Andalusite, Biotite, Calcite, Epidote, Garnet, Hornblade, Kyanite, Magnetite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Staurolite, Wollastonite

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism
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Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering
Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-76-7
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained
Medium to Coarse Grained

Fracture

-
Irregular to Conchoidal

Streak

White
White to Grey

Porosity

Less Porous
Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Grainy with Sporadic parts Pearly and Vitreous
Vitreous to Dull

Compressive Strength

175.00 N/mm290.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

-
-

Toughness

-
2.3

Specific Gravity

2.6-2.72.5
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Opaque

Density

2.65-2.75 g/cm32.85-3.07 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.79 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Russia, Turkey

Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Europe

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic
Germany, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland

Others

-
-

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Canada, USA

South America

-
Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

-
South Australia, Western Australia

Granite 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 Granite and Amphibolite Reserves. Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone. 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 Granite vs Amphibolite information and Granite vs Amphibolite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Granite 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. Granite vs Amphibolite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Granite and Properties of Amphibolite. Learn more about Granite vs Amphibolite in the next section. The interior uses of Granite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads whereas the interior uses of Amphibolite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels and Kitchens. Due to some exceptional properties of Granite and Amphibolite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Granite in construction industry include As dimension stone 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 Granite and Amphibolite

Here you can know more about Granite and Amphibolite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Granite and Amphibolite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Granite includes Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz 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 Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Granite vs Amphibolite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Granite is available in black, grey, orange, pink, white colors whereas, Amphibolite is available in black, brown, green, grey colors. Appearance of Granite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Amphibolite is Foliated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Granite vs Amphibolite. Hardness of Granite and Amphibolite is 6-7. The types of Granite are Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite 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 Granite is white while that of Amphibolite is white to grey. The specific heat capacity of Granite is 0.79 kJ/Kg K and that of Amphibolite is 0.84 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Granite is heat resistant, wear resistant whereas Amphibolite is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.