Granite

Anorthosite

Granite vs Anorthosite

Granite

Anorthosite

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1 Definition

1.1 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

Anorthosite is a granular igneous rock composed largely of labradorite or plagioclase

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum

From French anorthose plagioclase + -ite1

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Plutonic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Granular, Phaneritic

Foliated, Glassy

2.2 Color

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White

Black, Bluish - Grey, Brown, Green, Grey, Light Greenish Grey, Pink, White

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

2.5 Appearance

Veined or Pebbled

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

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

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 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, Garden Decoration

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums

Creating Artwork, Curling

4 Types

4.1 Types

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

Proterozoic Anorthosite and Archean Anorthosite

4.2 Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock

Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

Not Yet Used

4.3.2 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

Not Applicable

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 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

Not Applicable

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 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

Anorthosite is a phaneritic, intrusive igneous rock which is characterized by a predominance of plagioclase feldspar which is almost 90–100%, and a minimal mafic component.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Amphibole, Clinopyroxene, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Olivine, Orthopyroxene

5.2.2 Compound Content

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

Ca, CaO, Chromium(III) Oxide, MgO, Sulfur Trioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-75-6

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained

Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Not Available

Irregular

6.1.4 Streak

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull to Grainy with Sporadic parts Pearly and Vitreous

Pearly to Subvitreous

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

175.00 N/mm²NA

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

Irregular

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.6-2.72.62-2.82

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

Translucent

6.1.12 Density

2.65-2.75 g/cm³2.7-4 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

0.79 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Scratch Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

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

Not Yet Found

7.1.2 Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Not Yet Found

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic, Venezuela

Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Czech Republic

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada

7.2.2 South America

Not Yet Found

Bolivia, Colombia

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Not Yet Found

Central Australia, South Australia, Western Australia

Granite vs Anorthosite 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 Anorthosite 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. Anorthosite is a granular igneous rock composed largely of labradorite or 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 Anorthosite information and Granite vs Anorthosite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Granite vs Anorthosite 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 Anorthosite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Granite and Properties of Anorthosite. Learn more about Granite vs Anorthosite 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 Anorthosite include Decorative aggregates, Floor tiles, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Granite and Anorthosite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Granite in construction industry include As dimension stone and that of Anorthosite include As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate.

More about Granite and Anorthosite

Here you can know more about Granite and Anorthosite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Granite and Anorthosite 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 Anorthosite includes Amphibole, Clinopyroxene, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Olivine, Orthopyroxene. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Granite vs Anorthosite, 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, Anorthosite is available in black, bluish - grey, brown, green, grey, light greenish grey, pink, white colors. Appearance of Granite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Anorthosite is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Granite vs Anorthosite. The hardness of Granite is 6-7 and that of Anorthosite is 5-6. 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 Anorthosite are Proterozoic Anorthosite and Archean Anorthosite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Granite and Anorthosite is white. The specific heat capacity of Granite is 0.79 kJ/Kg K and that of Anorthosite 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 Anorthosite is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, scratch resistant, wear resistant.