Rhyolite

Sandstone

Rhyolite vs Sandstone

Rhyolite

Sandstone

Add ⊕

1 Definition

1.1 Definition

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

Sandstone is defined as a rock which is composed of sand-sized grains of various minerals mostly of uniform size and often are smooth and rounded

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 its composition, sand and stone

1.4 Class

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Volcanic

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Aphanitic, Glassy, Porphyritic

Clastic, Granular, Rough

2.2 Color

Grey, White, Light Black

Beige, Black, Brown, Colourless, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

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

Rough

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

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

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Office Buildings

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

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Gemstone, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, In aquifers, Petroleum reservoirs, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones, Used in aquariums

4 Types

4.1 Types

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

Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister

4.2 Features

Acidic in nature, Available in lots of colors

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Not Applicable

Abu Simbel in Egypt, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Buland Darwaza in Agra, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Dom in Berlin, Great Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, India, Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, India, India Gate in Delhi, India, Jama Masjid in Delhi, India, Khajuraho Temples, India, Leh Palace in Leh, India, Lotus Temple in New Delhi, India, Luxor Temple in Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Petra in Jordan, Qutb Minar in India, Red Fort in Delhi, India, Sanchi Stupa in India

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, US

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

Present

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.

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock which forms from cemented sand-sized clasts. It forms when sand layers are buried under sediments of sand.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

5.2.2 Compound Content

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

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Not Applicable

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind 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

Coarse or Fine

6.1.3 Fracture

Sub-conchoidal

Conchoidal

6.1.4 Streak

Colorless

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Earthy

Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

140.00 N/mm²95.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

6.1.8 Cleavage

Not Available

Perfect

6.1.9 Toughness

2.6

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.65-2.672.2-2.8

0 8.4

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.4-2.6 g/cm³2.2-2.8 g/cm³

0 1400

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

NA0.92 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India

China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan

7.1.2 Africa

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

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

7.1.3 Europe

Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain

Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Greenland

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

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand

Rhyolite vs Sandstone 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 Sandstone Reserves. Rhyolite is a fine-grained igneous rock which is rich in silica. Sandstone is defined as a rock which is composed of sand-sized grains of various minerals mostly of uniform size and often are smooth and rounded. 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 Sandstone information and Rhyolite vs Sandstone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Compare Igneous Rocks » More

Rhyolite vs Granodiorite

Rhyolite vs Pegmatite

Rhyolite vs Kimberlite

» More

More Compare Igneous Rocks

Rhyolite vs Sandstone 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 Sandstone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Rhyolite and Properties of Sandstone. Learn more about Rhyolite vs Sandstone in the next section. The interior uses of Rhyolite include Decorative aggregates, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration and Kitchens whereas the interior uses of Sandstone include Countertops, Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Rhyolite and Sandstone, 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 Sandstone include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar.

More about Rhyolite and Sandstone

Here you can know more about Rhyolite and Sandstone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Rhyolite and Sandstone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Rhyolite includes Biotite, Feldspar, Hornblade, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Sandstone includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Rhyolite vs Sandstone, 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, Sandstone is available in beige, black, brown, colourless, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Rhyolite is Banded and that of Sandstone is Rough. Properties of rock is another aspect for Rhyolite vs Sandstone. Hardness of Rhyolite and Sandstone is 6-7. The types of Rhyolite are Pumice Rocks, Obsidian Rocks, Perlite Rocks, Porphyritic Rocks. whereas types of Sandstone are Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister. 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 Sandstone is white. The specific heat capacity of Rhyolite is Not Available and that of Sandstone is 0.92 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 Sandstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant.