Rhyolite

Granite

Rhyolite vs Granite

Rhyolite

Granite

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Rhyolite is a fine-grained igneous rock which is rich in silica

Granite is a very hard, granular, crystalline igneous rock which consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and is often used as building stone

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

North America

Unknown

1.2.2 Discoverer

Ferdinand von Richthofen

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From German Rhyolit, from Greek rhuax lava stream + lithos stone

From Italian granito, which means grained rock, from grano grain, and from Latin granum

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Volcanic

Plutonic

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Aphanitic, Glassy, Porphyritic

Granular, Phaneritic

2.2 Color

Grey, White, Light Black

Black, Grey, Orange, Pink, White

2.3 Maintenance

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

2.5 Appearance

Banded

Veined or Pebbled

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

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

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Office Buildings

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Not Yet Used

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, for Road Aggregate, Knives

As Dimension Stone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry

Curling, Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Tombstones, Used in aquariums

4 Types

4.1 Types

Pumice Rocks, Obsidian Rocks, Perlite Rocks, Porphyritic Rocks.

Igneous Protolith Granite, Sedimentary Protolith Granite, Mantle Granite, Anorogenic Granite, Hybrid Granite, Granodiorite and Alkali Feldspar Granite

4.2 Features

Acidic in nature, Available in lots of colors

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, It is One of the Oldest, Strongest and Hardest Rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Not Applicable

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

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

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

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Rhyolite is a felsic extrusive rock and due to its high silica content, rhyolite lava is very viscous and is volcanic equivalent of granite.

Granite is an intrusive igneous rock which is very hard, crystalline and is visibly homogeneous in texture and forms by melting of continental rocks

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Amphibole, Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

5.2.2 Compound Content

Ca, Fe, Potassium Oxide, Mg, Potassium, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium

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

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6-76-7

1 7

6.1.2 Grain Size

Large and Coarse Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Sub-conchoidal

Not Available

6.1.4 Streak

Colorless

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Earthy

Dull to Grainy with Sporadic parts Pearly and Vitreous

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

140.00 N/mm²175.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.65-2.672.6-2.7

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.4-2.6 g/cm³2.65-2.75 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

NA0.79 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India

China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam

7.1.2 Africa

Angola, Egypt, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain

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

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

7.2.2 South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Not Yet Found

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Rhyolite 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 Rhyolite and Granite Reserves. Rhyolite is a fine-grained igneous rock which is rich in silica. 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 Rhyolite vs Granite information and Rhyolite vs Granite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Rhyolite 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. Rhyolite vs Granite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Rhyolite and Properties of Granite. Learn more about Rhyolite vs Granite in the next section. The interior uses of Rhyolite include Decorative aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration and Kitchens 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 Rhyolite and Granite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Rhyolite in construction industry include Arrowheads, As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, For road aggregate, Knives and that of Granite include As dimension stone.

More about Rhyolite and Granite

Here you can know more about Rhyolite and Granite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Rhyolite and Granite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Rhyolite includes Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz 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 Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Rhyolite vs Granite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Rhyolite is available in grey, white, light black colors whereas, Granite is available in black, grey, orange, pink, white colors. Appearance of Rhyolite is Banded and that of Granite is Veined or Pebbled. Properties of rock is another aspect for Rhyolite vs Granite. Hardness of Rhyolite and Granite is 6-7. The types of Rhyolite are Pumice Rocks, Obsidian Rocks, Perlite Rocks, Porphyritic Rocks. 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 Rhyolite is colorless while that of Granite is white. The specific heat capacity of Rhyolite is Not Available 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.Rhyolite is heat resistant, wear resistant whereas Granite is heat resistant, wear resistant.