Definition
Oil Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil is extracted
Breccia is a rock consisting of angular fragments of stones which are cemented by finer calcareous material
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From Old English scealu in its base sense of thing that divides or separate
From Italian, literally gravel, Germanic origin and related to break
Class
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Group
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Coarse Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Splintery
Brecciated, Clastic
Color
Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Red, Yellow
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Buff, Green, Grey, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, Rust, White, Yellow
Durability
Durable
Durable
Appearance
Muddy
Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny
Interior Uses
Not Yet Used
Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
Not Yet Used
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
Curbing
Construction Industry
Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock
As Dimension Stone, Construction Aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
Artifacts, Sculpture
Commercial Uses
An Oil and Gas Reservoir
Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry
Types
Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale
Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Very fine grained rock
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
Not Yet Used
Not Yet Used
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
Used
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
Data Not Available
Pictographs
Not Used
Not Used
Petroglyphs
Not Used
Not Used
Figurines
Not Yet Used
Used
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.
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.
Mineral Content
Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides
Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica
Compound Content
Ca, Fe, Mg, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium
Aluminium Oxide, Ca, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic 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
Grain Size
Very fine-grained
Medium to Coarse Grained
Fracture
Not Available
Uneven
Porosity
Highly Porous
Less Porous
Luster
Dull
Dull to Pearly
Cleavage
Slaty
Non-Existent
Toughness
2.6
Not Available
Specific Gravity
2.2-2.8
2.86-2.87
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
2.4-2.8 g/cm3
0 g/cm3
Specific Heat Capacity
Not Available
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
China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Africa
Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Europe
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Others
Greenland, Not Yet Found
Greenland
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, USA
Barbados, Canada, Mexico, Panama, USA
South America
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Brazil
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand
Oil shale vs Breccia 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. Oil shale vs Breccia characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Oil shale and Properties of Breccia. Learn more about Oil shale vs Breccia in the next section. The interior uses of Oil shale include Not yet used whereas the interior uses of Breccia include Countertops, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Oil shale and Breccia, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Oil shale in construction industry include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Serves as an oil and gas reservoir rock and that of Breccia include As dimension stone, Construction aggregate, Landscaping, Roadstone.
More about Oil shale and Breccia
Here you can know more about Oil shale and Breccia. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Oil shale and Breccia consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Oil shale includes Albite, Biotite, Calcite, Chert, Chlorite, Dolomite, Hematite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Silica, Sulfides and mineral content of Breccia includes Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Phosphates, Quartz, Silica. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Oil shale vs Breccia, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Oil shale is available in black, brown, buff, green, grey, red, yellow colors whereas, Breccia is available in beige, black, blue, brown, buff, green, grey, orange, pink, purple, red, rust, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Oil shale is Muddy and that of Breccia is Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. Properties of rock is another aspect for Oil shale vs Breccia. The hardness of Oil shale is 2-3 and that of Breccia is 7. The types of Oil shale are Carbonate-rich Shale, Siliceous Shale and Cannel Shale whereas types of Breccia are Collapse Breccia, Fault Breccia, Flow Breccia, Pyroclastic Breccia, Igneous Breccia and Impact Breccia. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Oil shale and Breccia is white. The specific heat capacity of Oil shale is 0.39 kJ/Kg K and that of Breccia is Not Available. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Oil shale is heat resistant, impact resistant whereas Breccia is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.