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Granite
Granite

Tuff
Tuff



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Granite vs Tuff

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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
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption

History

Origin

-
Italy

Discoverer

Alexander von Humboldt
Unknown

Etymology

From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff

Class

Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic
Volcanic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Texture

Granular, Phaneritic
Clastic, Pyroclastic

Color

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White
Brown, Grey, Yellow

Maintenance

More
More

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Veined or Pebbled
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

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

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, Office Buildings, Paving Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

Medical Industry

-
-

Antiquity Uses

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

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

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

Types

Types

Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite
Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

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
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean

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
Tuff is formed when large masses of ash and sand which are mixed with hot gases are ejected by a volcano and avalanche rapidly down its slopes.

Composition

Mineral Content

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

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

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

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

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

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-74-6
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained
Fine Grained

Fracture

-
Uneven

Streak

White
White

Porosity

Less Porous
Highly Porous

Luster

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

Compressive Strength

175.00 N/mm2243.80 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

-
-

Toughness

-
-

Specific Gravity

2.6-2.72.73
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Opaque

Density

2.65-2.75 g/cm31-1.8 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.79 kJ/Kg K0.20 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

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

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen

Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda

Europe

Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

Others

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Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

South America

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Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

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Central Australia, Western Australia

Granite vs Tuff 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 Tuff 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. Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. 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 Tuff information and Granite vs Tuff characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Granite vs Tuff 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 Tuff characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Granite and Properties of Tuff. Learn more about Granite vs Tuff 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 Tuff include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Granite and Tuff, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Granite in construction industry include As dimension stone and that of Tuff include Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate.

More about Granite and Tuff

Here you can know more about Granite and Tuff. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Granite and Tuff 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 Tuff includes Calcite, Chlorite. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Granite vs Tuff, 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, Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors. Appearance of Granite is Veined or Pebbled and that of Tuff is Dull, Vesicular and Foilated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Granite vs Tuff. The hardness of Granite is 6-7 and that of Tuff is 4-6. 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 Tuff are Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Granite and Tuff is white. The specific heat capacity of Granite is 0.79 kJ/Kg K and that of Tuff is 0.20 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 Tuff is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.