Definition
Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone
Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted
Origin
Pennines, England
Unknown
Discoverer
J.J. Ferber
Unknown
Etymology
From Grit + Stone
From Old English scealu in its base sense of thing that divides or separate
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Color
Beige, Black, Brown, Colourless, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow
Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Layered and Foliated
Muddy
Interior Uses
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration
Not Yet Used
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Not Yet Used
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Not Yet Used
Construction Industry
Construction Aggregate, Roadstone
Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture
Artifacts
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones
An Oil and Gas Reservoir
Types
Not Available
Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale
Features
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock
Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Very fine grained rock
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Monuments
Data Not Available
Not Applicable
Sculpture
Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Sculptures
Data Not Available
Not Applicable
Pictographs
Not Used
Not Used
Petroglyphs
Not Used
Not Used
Figurines
Used
Not Yet Used
Formation
Gritstone is a type of sedimentary rock which was formed on the floors of wide river deltas where the grit deposits were laid down, with every tide or flood dumping another layer of sediment.
Oil Shale forms on the beds of seas and lakes and its formation starts with the organic debris settling and accumulating at the bottom of a lake or sea which are then transformed into rock with the help of high temperature and pressure.
Mineral Content
Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz
Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides
Compound Content
Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide
Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion
Grain Size
Coarse Grained
Very fine-grained
Fracture
Conchoidal
Not Available
Porosity
Highly Porous
Highly Porous
Compressive Strength
Not Available
Toughness
Not Available
2.6
Specific Gravity
2.250
2.2-2.8
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.2 g/cm3
2.4-2.8 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan
Bangladesh, China, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey
Africa
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania
Europe
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Others
Greenland
Greenland, Not Yet Found
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Brazil
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia
Gritstone vs Oil shale 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. Gritstone vs Oil shale characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Gritstone and Properties of Oil shale. Learn more about Gritstone vs Oil shale in the next section. The interior uses of Gritstone include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Oil shale include Not yet used. Due to some exceptional properties of Gritstone and Oil shale, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Gritstone in construction industry include Construction aggregate, Roadstone and that of Oil shale include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Serves as an oil and gas reservoir rock.
More about Gritstone and Oil shale
Here you can know more about Gritstone and Oil shale. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Gritstone and Oil shale consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Gritstone includes Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz and mineral content of Oil shale includes Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Gritstone vs Oil shale, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Gritstone is available in beige, black, brown, colourless, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors whereas, Oil shale is available in black, brown, buff, green, grey, red, yellow colors. Appearance of Gritstone is Layered and Foliated and that of Oil shale is Muddy. Properties of rock is another aspect for Gritstone vs Oil shale. The hardness of Gritstone is 6-7 and that of Oil shale is 2-3. The types of Gritstone are Not Available whereas types of Oil shale are Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Gritstone and Oil shale is white. The specific heat capacity of Gritstone is 0.92 kJ/Kg K and that of Oil shale is 0.39 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Gritstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Oil shale is heat resistant, impact resistant.