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Slate
Slate

Sandstone
Sandstone



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Slate vs Sandstone

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Definition

Definition

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism
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

History

Origin

England
-

Discoverer

Abraham Gottlob Werner
Unknown

Etymology

From Old French esclate, from esclat (French éclat)
From its composition, sand and stone

Class

Metamorphic Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

-
-

Other Categories

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

Texture

Texture

Foliated
Clastic, Granular, Rough

Color

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Light to Dark Grey, Purple, Red, Shades of Blue
Beige, Black, Brown, Cream, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light to Dark Grey, Pink, Red, White, Yellow

Maintenance

Less
More

Durability

Durable
Durable

Water Resistant

Scratch Resistant

Stain Resistant

Wind Resistant

Acid Resistant

Appearance

Dull
Rough

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

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

Exterior Uses

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing
Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

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

Medical Industry

-
-

Antiquity Uses

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

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Blackboards, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Standard material for the bed of Billiard table, Standard material for the beds of Pool and Snooker table, Tombstones, Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
An Oil and Gas Reservoir, In aquifers, Petroleum reservoirs, Soil Conditioner, Source of Magnesia (MgO), Tombstones, Used in aquariums

Types

Types

Phyllite, Schist, and Slate
Grey Sandstones, Crystallized Sandstones, Hard Sandstones , Carbonate Cemented Sandstones and Ganister

Features

Easily splits into thin plates, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock
Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Generally rough to touch, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

-
-

Famous Monuments

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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

Absent
Present

Formation

Formation

Slate is a low grade metamorphic rock that is generally formed by metamorphosis of mudstone or shale, under relatively low pressure and temperature conditions.
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock which forms from cemented sand-sized clasts. It forms when sand layers are buried under sediments of sand.

Composition

Mineral Content

Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon
Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

Compound Content

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

Transformation

Metamorphism

Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
-

Weathering

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

Types of Erosion

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

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

3-46-7
1 7
👆🏻

Grain Size

Very fine-grained
Coarse or Fine

Fracture

Splintery
Conchoidal

Streak

Light to dark brown
White

Porosity

Less Porous
Highly Porous

Luster

Dull
Dull

Compressive Strength

30.00 N/mm295.00 N/mm2
0.15 450
👆🏻

Cleavage

Slaty
Perfect

Toughness

1.2
2.6

Specific Gravity

2.65-2.82.2-2.8
0 8.4
👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque
Opaque

Density

2.6-2.8 g/cm32.2-2.8 g/cm3
0 1400
👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.76 kJ/Kg K0.92 kJ/Kg K
0.14 3.2
👆🏻

Resistance

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

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

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

Africa

-
Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa

Europe

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Others

Arctic
Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

USA
Canada, USA

South America

Brazil
Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

-
New South Wales, New Zealand

Slate 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 Slate and Sandstone Reserves. Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. 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 Slate vs Sandstone information and Slate vs Sandstone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Slate 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. Slate vs Sandstone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Slate and Properties of Sandstone. Learn more about Slate vs Sandstone in the next section. The interior uses of Slate include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads whereas the interior uses of Sandstone include Countertops, Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Slate and Sandstone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Slate in construction industry include As dimension stone 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 Slate and Sandstone

Here you can know more about Slate and Sandstone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Slate and Sandstone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Slate includes Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon and mineral content of Sandstone includes Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Slate vs Sandstone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Slate is available in black, brown, buff, green, light to dark grey, purple, red, shades of blue colors whereas, Sandstone is available in beige, black, brown, cream, dark brown, green, grey, light green, light to dark grey, pink, red, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Slate is Dull and that of Sandstone is Rough. Properties of rock is another aspect for Slate vs Sandstone. The hardness of Slate is 3-4 and that of Sandstone is 6-7. The types of Slate are Phyllite, Schist, and Slate 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 Slate is light to dark brown while that of Sandstone is white. The specific heat capacity of Slate is 0.76 kJ/Kg K 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.Slate is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Sandstone is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant.