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Sandstone
Sandstone

Dolomite
Dolomite



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Sandstone vs Dolomite

Definition

Definition

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
Dolomite is a sedimentary rock containing more than 50 percent of the mineral dolomite by weight

History

Origin

-
Southern Alps, France

Discoverer

Unknown
Dolomieu

Etymology

From its composition, sand and stone
From French, from the name of Dolomieu (1750–1801), the French geologist who discovered the rock

Class

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

-
-

Other Categories

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

Texture

Texture

Clastic, Granular, Rough
Earthy

Color

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

Maintenance

More
Less

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Rough
Glassy or Pearly

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Office Buildings
Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
-

Industry

Construction Industry

Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar
As a Flux in the Production of Steel and Pig Iron, As a Sintering Agent in Steel Industry to process Iron Ore, As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Serves as an Oil and Gas Reservoir rock

Medical Industry

-
Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

Antiquity Uses

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

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

An Oil and Gas Reservoir, In aquifers, Petroleum reservoirs, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones, Used in aquariums
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Gemstone, Metallurgical Flux, Production of Lime, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Types

Types

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

Features

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock
Host Rock for Lead, Traps for subsurface fluids like Oil and Natural Gas., Zinc and Copper Deposits

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

Famous Monuments

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
-

Sculpture

-
-

Famous Sculptures

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

Pictographs

-
-

Petroglyphs

-
-

Figurines

-
-

Fossils

Present
Present

Formation

Formation

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock which forms from cemented sand-sized clasts. It forms when sand layers are buried under sediments of sand.
Dolomite rocks are originally deposited as calcite or aragonite rich limestone, but during diagenesis process, the calcite or aragonite is transformed into dolomite.

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz
Clay Minerals, Pyrite, Quartz, Sulfides

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide
NaCl, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Magnesium Carbonate, MgO

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

-
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
-

Erosion

Types of Erosion

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

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

6-73.5-4
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse or Fine
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Fracture

Conchoidal
Conchoidal

Streak

White
White

Porosity

Highly Porous
Less Porous

Luster

Dull
Vitreous and Pearly

Compressive Strength

95.00 N/mm2140.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect
Perfect

Toughness

2.6
1

Specific Gravity

2.2-2.82.8-3
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Transparent to Translucent

Density

2.2-2.8 g/cm32.8-2.9 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.92 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

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

Africa

Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa
Morocco, Namibia

Europe

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

Others

Greenland
-

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA
Mexico, USA

South America

Brazil
Brazil, Colombia

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New South Wales, New Zealand
New South Wales, Queensland, Yorke Peninsula

Sandstone vs Dolomite 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 Sandstone and Dolomite Reserves. 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. Dolomite is a sedimentary rock containing more than 50 percent of the mineral dolomite by weight. 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 Sandstone vs Dolomite information and Sandstone vs Dolomite characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Sandstone vs Dolomite 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. Sandstone vs Dolomite characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Sandstone and Properties of Dolomite. Learn more about Sandstone vs Dolomite in the next section. The interior uses of Sandstone include Countertops, Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Dolomite include Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Sandstone and Dolomite, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Sandstone in construction industry include Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar and that of Dolomite include As a flux in the production of steel and pig iron, As a sintering agent in steel industry to process iron ore, As dimension stone, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Making natural cement, Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories, Production of glass and ceramics, Serves as an oil and gas reservoir rock.

More about Sandstone and Dolomite

Here you can know more about Sandstone and Dolomite. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Sandstone and Dolomite consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Sandstone includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz and mineral content of Dolomite includes Clay Minerals, Pyrite, Quartz, Sulfides. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Sandstone vs Dolomite, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Sandstone is available in beige, black, brown, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors whereas, Dolomite is available in black, brown, green, grey, pink, white colors. Appearance of Sandstone is Rough and that of Dolomite is Glassy or Pearly. Properties of rock is another aspect for Sandstone vs Dolomite. The hardness of Sandstone is 6-7 and that of Dolomite is 3.5-4. The types of Sandstone are Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister whereas types of Dolomite are Boninite and Jasperoid. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Sandstone and Dolomite is white. The specific heat capacity of Sandstone is 0.92 kJ/Kg K and that of Dolomite 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.Sandstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant whereas Dolomite is heat resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.