Hornfels

Wehrlite

Hornfels and Wehrlite

Hornfels

Wehrlite

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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

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites

History

Origin

New Zealand

Egypt

Discoverer

Unknown

Alois Wehrle

Etymology

From German which means hornstone

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Granular, Platy

Banded

Color

Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Reddish Brown

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull

Rough and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

for Road Aggregate, Roadstone

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

Biotite hornfels

Ultramafic rock

Features

Smooth to touch

Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

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.

Wehrlite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.

Composition

Mineral Content

Andalusite

Pyroxene

Compound Content

Fe, Mg

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

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

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical 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

2-35.5-6

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal

Irregular

Streak

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Shiny

Metallic

Compressive Strength

5.80 N/mm²100.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect

Toughness

2.1

Specific Gravity

3.4-3.98.4

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

0.25-0.30 g/cm³2.6-3.7 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.84 kJ/Kg K0.63 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

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

China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey

Africa

Cameroon, East Africa, Tanzania, Western Africa

Morocco, South Africa

Europe

United Kingdom

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

All about Hornfels and Wehrlite Properties

Know all about Hornfels and Wehrlite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Hornfels belongs to Metamorphic Rocks while Wehrlite belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Hornfels is Granular, Platy whereas that of Wehrlite is Banded. Hornfels appears Dull and Wehrlite appears Rough and Banded. The luster of Hornfels is shiny while that of Wehrlite is metallic. Hornfels and Wehrlite are available in brown, dark greenish - grey, green, reddish brown colors. The commercial uses of Hornfels are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork and that of Wehrlite are cemetery markers, creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry.