Ignimbrite

Breccia

Ignimbrite and Breccia

Ignimbrite

Breccia

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Definition

Ignimbrite is a volcanic rock consisting mainly of pumice fragments, formed by the consolidation of material deposited by pyroclastic flows

Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material

History

Origin

New Zealand

England

Discoverer

Patrick Marshall

Unknown

Etymology

From Latin ignis fire + imber, imbr- shower of rain, storm cloud + -ite

From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Aphanitic

Brecciated, Clastic

Color

Beige, Black, Brown, Grey, Pink, White

Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes, Interior Decoration

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

Exterior Uses

As Building 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

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

As Dimension Stone, Construction Aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Types

Pyroclastic rock

Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia

Features

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Present

Formation

Ignimbrites are formed from very poorly sorted mixture of volcanic ash or tuff and pumice lapilli, commonly with scattered lithic fragments.

Breccia is a clastic sedimentary rock which is composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock which are cemented together by a fine-grained matrix and it forms where broken, angular fragments of rock or mineral debris accumulate.

Composition

Mineral Content

Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Hematite, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Olivine, Pyroxene, Quartz

Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica

Compound Content

Ca, NaCl

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

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

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

4-67

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Medium to Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Streak

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Vitreous to Dull

Dull to Pearly

Compressive Strength

243.80 N/mm²180.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.732.86-2.87

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

1-1.8 g/cm³0 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.20 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

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

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Africa

Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Europe

France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

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

Others

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand

All about Ignimbrite and Breccia Properties

Know all about Ignimbrite and Breccia properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Ignimbrite belongs to Igneous Rocks while Breccia belongs to Sedimentary Rocks.Texture of Ignimbrite is Aphanitic whereas that of Breccia is Brecciated, Clastic. Ignimbrite appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Breccia appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. The luster of Ignimbrite is vitreous to dull while that of Breccia is dull to pearly. Ignimbrite is available in beige, black, brown, grey, pink, white colors whereas Breccia is available in beige, black, blue, brown, buff, green, grey, orange, pink, purple, red, rust, white, yellow colors. The commercial uses of Ignimbrite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork and that of Breccia are creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry.