Gritstone

Slate

Gritstone vs Slate

Gritstone

Slate

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Pennines, England

England

1.2.2 Discoverer

J.J. Ferber

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From Grit + Stone

From Old French esclate, from esclat (French éclat)

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Earthy

Foliated

2.2 Color

Beige, Black, Brown, Colourless, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Light to Dark Grey, Purple, Red, Shades of Blue

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

42% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

19% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

15% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Layered and Foliated

Dull

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

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

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Construction Aggregate, Roadstone

As Dimension Stone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 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

Blackboards, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Standard material for the bed of Billiard table, Standard material for the beds of Pool and Snooker table, Tombstones, Used in aquariums, Writing Slates

4 Types

4.1 Types

Not Available

4.2 Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock

Easily splits into thin plates, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 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.

Slate is a low grade metamorphic rock that is generally formed by metamorphosis of mudstone or shale, under relatively low pressure and temperature conditions.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon

5.2.2 Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

50% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

77% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion

Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-7

3-4

6.1.2 Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Very fine-grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

Splintery

6.1.4 Streak

White

Light to dark brown

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

70.00 N/mm²

Rank: 24 (Overall)▶

30.00 N/mm²

Rank: 30 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Slaty

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

1.2

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.250

2.65-2.8

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.2 g/cm³

2.6-2.8 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.92 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 10 (Overall)▶

0.76 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 17 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan

China, India, Turkey

7.1.2 Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Not Yet Found

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Greenland

Arctic

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

USA

7.2.2 South America

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Gritstone vs Slate 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 Gritstone and Slate Reserves. Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. 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 Gritstone vs Slate information and Gritstone vs Slate characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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

More about Gritstone and Slate

Here you can know more about Gritstone and Slate. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Gritstone and Slate consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Gritstone includes Calcite, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz and mineral content of Slate includes Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Gritstone vs Slate, 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, Slate is available in black, brown, buff, green, light to dark grey, purple, red, shades of blue colors. Appearance of Gritstone is Layered and Foliated and that of Slate is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Gritstone vs Slate. The hardness of Gritstone is 6-7 and that of Slate is 3-4. The types of Gritstone are Not Available whereas types of Slate are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Gritstone is white while that of Slate is light to dark brown. The specific heat capacity of Gritstone is 0.92 kJ/Kg K and that of Slate is 0.76 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 Slate is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.