Definition
Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Old English scealu in its base sense of thing that divides or separate
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Splintery
Clastic, Pyroclastic
Color
Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow
Brown, Grey, Yellow
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Muddy
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated
Interior Uses
-
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
-
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
-
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir
Creating Artwork
Types
Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale
Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Very fine grained rock
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust
Archaeological Significance
Famous Monuments
-
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean
Formation
Oil Shale forms on the beds of seas and lakes and its formation starts with the organic debris settling and accumulating at the bottom of a lake or sea which are then transformed into rock with the help of high temperature and pressure.
Tuff is formed when large masses of ash and sand which are mixed with hot gases are ejected by a volcano and avalanche rapidly down its slopes.
Mineral Content
Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides
Calcite, Chlorite
Compound Content
Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium
Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
-
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Grain Size
Very fine-grained
Fine Grained
Porosity
Highly Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Dull
Vitreous to Dull
Specific Gravity
2.2-2.8
2.73
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.4-2.8 g/cm3
1-1.8 g/cm3
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Deposits in Eastern Continents
Asia
Bangladesh, China, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen
Africa
Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda
Europe
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Others
Greenland
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA
South America
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia
Central Australia, Western Australia