Ignimbrite is a volcanic rock consisting mainly of pumice fragments, formed by the consolidation of material deposited by pyroclastic flows
From Latin ignis fire + imber, imbr- shower of rain, storm cloud + -ite
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Beige, Black, Brown, Grey, Pink, White
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Homes, Interior Decoration
As Building Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust
Archaeological Significance
Ignimbrites are formed from very poorly sorted mixture of volcanic ash or tuff and pumice lapilli, commonly with scattered lithic fragments.
Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Hematite, Hornblade, Ilmenite, Magnetite, Olivine, Pyroxene, Quartz
Burial Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands
Deposits in Western Continents
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Central Australia, Western Australia