Home
Compare Rocks


Schist and Wehrlite


Wehrlite and Schist


Definition

Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation  
Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites  

History
  
  

Origin
Unknown  
Egypt  

Discoverer
Unknown  
Alois Wehrle  

Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split  
From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle  

Class
Metamorphic Rocks  
Igneous Rocks  

Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock  
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock  

Family
  
  

Group
Not Applicable  
Plutonic  

Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  
Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock  

Texture

Texture
Foliated, Platy  
Banded  

Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver  
Dark Greenish - Grey, Green  

Maintenance
Less  
Less  

Durability
Durable  
Durable  

Water Resistant
Yes  
Yes  

Scratch Resistant
No  
Yes  

Stain Resistant
No  
Yes  

Wind Resistant
No  
No  

Acid Resistant
No  
No  

Appearance
Layered and Shiny  
Rough and Banded  

Uses

Architecture
  
  

Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration  
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration  

Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone  
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone  

Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used  
Curbing  

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone  
As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones  

Medical Industry
Not Yet Used  
NA  

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts  
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines  

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates  
Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry  

Types

Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.  
Not Available  

Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch  
Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock  

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
Not Yet Used  
Used  

Famous Monuments
Not Applicable  
Data Not Available  

Sculpture
Not Yet Used  
Used  

Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable  
Data Not Available  

Pictographs
Used  
Used  

Petroglyphs
Used  
Used  

Figurines
Not Yet Used  
Used  

Fossils
Absent  
Absent  

Formation

Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.  
Wehrlite is a fine-grained, hard rock which is a type of metasomatite, essentially altered basalt. It forms with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks.  

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc  
Pyroxene  

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

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
No  
Yes  

Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable  
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism  

Weathering
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  

Erosion
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion  
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion  

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
3.5-4  
5.5-6  

Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained  
Coarse Grained  

Fracture
Conchoidal  
Irregular  

Streak
White  
White  

Porosity
Highly Porous  
Less Porous  

Luster
Shiny  
Metallic  

Cleavage
Slaty  
Perfect  

Toughness
1.5  
2.1  

Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9  
8.4  

Transparency
Opaque  
Opaque  

Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3  
2.6-3.7 g/cm3  

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
Not Available  
0.63 kJ/Kg K  
21

Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant  
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant  

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  

Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam  
China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey  

Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa  
Morocco, South Africa  

Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland  
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela  

Others
Not Yet Found  
Not Yet Found  

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA  
Canada, USA  

South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana  
Brazil  

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland  
New Zealand, Western Australia  

Summary >>
<< Reserves

All about Schist and Wehrlite Properties

Know all about Schist and Wehrlite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Schist belongs to Metamorphic Rocks while Wehrlite belongs to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Schist is Foliated, Platy whereas that of Wehrlite is Banded. Schist appears Layered and Shiny and Wehrlite appears Rough and Banded. The luster of Schist is shiny while that of Wehrlite is metallic. Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors whereas Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors. The commercial uses of Schist are used in aquariums, writing slates and that of Wehrlite are cemetery markers, creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry.

Compare Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

» More Metamorphic Rocks

Compare Metamorphic Rocks

» More Compare Metamorphic Rocks