Hornfels

Diabase

Hornfels and Diabase

Hornfels

Diabase

Add ⊕

Definition

Hornfels is a metamorphic rock formed by the contact between mudstone or other clay rich rock, and a hot igneous body, and represents a heat altered equivalent of the original rock

Diabase is a fine-grained igneous rock which is composed mostly of pyroxene and feldspar

History

Origin

New Zealand

Germany

Discoverer

Unknown

Christian Leopold von Buch

Etymology

From German which means hornstone

From Greek di + base

Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Granular, Platy

Aphanitic, Granular

Color

Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Reddish Brown

Dark Grey to Black

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull

Vesicular

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

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

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

for Road Aggregate, Roadstone

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones

Types

Biotite hornfels

Dolerite

Features

Smooth to touch

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Hornfels is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.

Diabase forms when molten igneous rock is squeezed up into a vertical crack in other rocks, the crack is usually forced apart and the molten rock cools in the space to form a tabular igneous intrusion cutting across the surrounding rocks and is known as a dike.

Composition

Mineral Content

Andalusite

Augite, Chlorite, Olivine, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Pyrrhotite, Serpentine

Compound Content

Fe, Mg

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

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

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

2-37

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Fine to Medium Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Streak

Black

Porosity

Highly Porous

Luster

Shiny

Compressive Strength

5.80 N/mm²225.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect

Toughness

1.6

Specific Gravity

3.4-3.92.86-2.87

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

0.25-0.30 g/cm³2.7-3.3 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, North Korea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand

India

Africa

Cameroon, East Africa, Tanzania, Western Africa

South Africa, Tanzania

Europe

United Kingdom

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

Others

Antarctica, Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

All about Hornfels and Diabase Properties

Know all about Hornfels and Diabase properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Hornfels belongs to Metamorphic Rocks while Diabase belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Hornfels is Granular, Platy whereas that of Diabase is Aphanitic, Granular. Hornfels appears Dull and Diabase appears Vesicular. The luster of Hornfels is shiny while that of Diabase is . Hornfels is available in brown, dark greenish - grey, green, reddish brown colors whereas Diabase is available in dark grey to black colors. The commercial uses of Hornfels are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork and that of Diabase are an oil and gas reservoir, cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones.