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Limestone
Limestone

Granite
Granite



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Limestone vs Granite

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Definition

Definition

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate
Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone

History

Origin

New Zealand
-

Discoverer

Belsazar Hacquet
Alexander von Humboldt

Etymology

From lime and stone in late 14th Century
From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum

Class

Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

-
Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Texture

Clastic or Non-Clastic
Granular, Phaneritic

Color

Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Gold, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light Grey, Linen, Pink, Red, Rust, Silver, White, Yellow
Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White

Maintenance

More
More

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Rough and Banded
Veined or Pebbled

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

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

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Bridges, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Near Swimming Pools, Office Buildings, Resorts

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium
As Dimension Stone

Medical Industry

In Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry, Medicines and Cosmetics
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Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Animal feed filler, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Paper Industry, Raw material for manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, Soil Conditioner, Used in aquariums, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper
Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums

Types

Types

Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa
Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite

Features

Host Rock for Lead, Stalactites and stalagmites are formed from this rock, Zinc and Copper Deposits
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

Famous Monuments

Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Big Ben in London, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Empire State Building in New York, Khajuraho Temples, India, Kremlin in Moscow, Louvre in Paris, France, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Potala Palace in Lahasa, Tibet, Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Blue Domed Church in Santorini, Greece, Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, UK, Ephesus in Turkey, Georgia Guidestones in Georgia, US, Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Khajuraho Temples, India, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, India, Mysore Palace in Karnataka, India, Signers Monument in Augusta, Georgia, Statue of Liberty in New York, USA, Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Tower Bridge in London, Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, US, Washington Monument, US

Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India
Avukana Buddha Statue in Sri Lanka, Lincoln Memorial in America, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US, The Colossal Red Granite Statue of Amenhotep III in Karnak, Egypt

Pictographs

-
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Petroglyphs

-
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Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Present
Absent

Formation

Formation

Limestone is a sedimentary rock which is mainly made up of calcium carbonate.
Granite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard, crystalline and is visibly homogeneous in texture and forms by melting of continental rocks

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt
Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

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Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

3-46-7
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained
Large and Coarse Grained

Fracture

Splintery
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Streak

White
White

Porosity

Less Porous
Less Porous

Luster

Dull to Pearly
Dull to Grainy with Sporadic parts Pearly and Vitreous

Compressive Strength

115.00 N/mm2175.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

-
-

Toughness

1
-

Specific Gravity

2.3-2.72.6-2.7
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Opaque

Density

2.3-2.7 g/cm32.65-2.75 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.91 kJ/Kg K0.79 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

Africa

Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Europe

United Kingdom
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sardinia, Spain, Switzerland, The Czech Republic

Others

-
-

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA
Canada, USA

South America

Colombia
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Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula
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Limestone vs Granite 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 Limestone and Granite Reserves. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone. 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 Limestone vs Granite information and Limestone vs Granite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Limestone vs Granite 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. Limestone vs Granite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Limestone and Properties of Granite. Learn more about Limestone vs Granite in the next section. The interior uses of Limestone include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Granite include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads. Due to some exceptional properties of Limestone and Granite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Limestone in construction industry include Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium and that of Granite include As dimension stone.

More about Limestone and Granite

Here you can know more about Limestone and Granite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Limestone and Granite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Limestone includes Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt and mineral content of Granite includes Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Limestone vs Granite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Limestone is available in beige, black, blue, brown, cream, gold, green, grey, light green, light grey, linen, pink, red, rust, silver, white, yellow colors whereas, Granite is available in black, grey, orange, pink, white colors. Appearance of Limestone is Rough and Banded and that of Granite is Veined or Pebbled. Properties of rock is another aspect for Limestone vs Granite. The hardness of Limestone is 3-4 and that of Granite is 6-7. The types of Limestone are Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa whereas types of Granite are Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Limestone and Granite is white. The specific heat capacity of Limestone is 0.91 kJ/Kg K and that of Granite is 0.79 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Limestone is pressure resistant whereas Granite is heat resistant, wear resistant.