Shoshonite

Pyroxenite

Shoshonite and Pyroxenite

Shoshonite

Pyroxenite

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Definition

Shoshonite is a basaltic rock, properly a potassic trachyandesite, composed of olivine, augite and plagioclase phenocrysts in a groundmass with calcic plagioclase and sanidine and some dark-colored volcanic glass

Pyroxenite is a dark, greenish, granular intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of pyroxenes and olivine

History

Origin

Wyoming,USA

Discoverer

Iddings

Unknown

Etymology

From the place of origin called Shoshone riverin Wyoming

From pyro- fire + Greek xenos stranger as the mineral group was new to igneous rocks

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Plutonic

Other Categories

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

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Porphyritic

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Color

Brown- Black, Dark Brown

Black to Grey, Bluish - Grey, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Light Greenish Grey

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

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

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Sculpture

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones

Types

Intermediate volcanic rock

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Features

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

Generally rough to touch, Host rock for Diamond, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Shoshonite 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.

Pyroxenites are ultramafic igneous rocks which are made up of minerals of the pyroxene group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite.

Composition

Mineral Content

Pyroxene

Amphibole, Augite, Bronzite, Chromite, Diopside, Enstatite, Garnet, Hornblende, Hypersthene, Magnetite, Pyroxene

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, Sodium Oxide, Titanium Dioxide

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Streak

White to Grey

White, Greenish White or Grey

Porosity

Less Porous

Luster

Dull

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Compressive Strength

175.00 N/mm²150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

1.6

Specific Gravity

2.983.2-3.5

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.9-3 g/cm³3.1-3.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.79 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

India, Russia

Africa

South Africa

Europe

Iceland

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

Others

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

South America

Brazil

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

All about Shoshonite and Pyroxenite Properties

Know all about Shoshonite and Pyroxenite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Shoshonite and Pyroxenite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Shoshonite is Porphyritic whereas that of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic. Shoshonite appears Dull and Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. The luster of Shoshonite is dull while that of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic. Shoshonite is available in brown- black, dark brown colors whereas Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors. The commercial uses of Shoshonite are cemetery markers, creating artwork and that of Pyroxenite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones.