Soapstone

Tuff

Soapstone vs Tuff

Soapstone

Tuff

Add ⊕

1 Definition

1.1 Definition

It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc

Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

USA

Italy

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From 17th century, because of its greasy feel and use like a soap

From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff

1.4 Class

Metamorphic Rocks

Igneous Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Soft Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

Volcanic

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Polished

Clastic, Pyroclastic

2.2 Color

Black, Black to Grey, Green, Grey

Brown, Grey, Yellow

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

81% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

86% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

42% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

66% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

19% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

49% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

15% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

48% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Dull, Banded and Foilated

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

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

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Taken as a Supplement for Calcium or Magnesium

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Production of Lime, Source of Magnesia (MgO)

Creating Artwork

4 Types

4.1 Types

Not Available

Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.

4.2 Features

Host Rock for Lead

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Stonehenge in English county of Wiltshire

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean

4.3.3 Sculpture

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Used

4.4 Fossils

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Soapstone is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock and it is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich inmagnesium.

Tuff is formed when large masses of ash and sand which are mixed with hot gases are ejected by a volcano and avalanche rapidly down its slopes.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz

Calcite, Chlorite

5.2.2 Compound Content

CaO, Mg, MgO

Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

50% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

97% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

99% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

77% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

92% Igneous Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Not Applicable

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

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

4-6

6.1.2 Grain Size

Fine Grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Conchoidal

Uneven

6.1.4 Streak

Black

White

6.1.5 Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Greasy

Vitreous to Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

225.00 N/mm²

Rank: 7 (Overall)▶

243.80 N/mm²

Rank: 5 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Perfect

Not Available

6.1.9 Toughness

Not Available

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.86

2.73

6.1.11 Transparency

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.8-2.9 g/cm³

1-1.8 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.88 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 13 (Overall)▶

0.20 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 25 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen

7.1.2 Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Western Africa

Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Not Yet Found

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, USA

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

7.2.2 South America

Colombia

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

Central Australia, New Zealand, Queensland

Central Australia, Western Australia

Soapstone vs Tuff 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 Soapstone and Tuff Reserves. It is a metamorphic magnesium rich rock because it is composed of the mineral talc. Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. 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 Soapstone vs Tuff information and Soapstone vs Tuff characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Compare Metamorphic Rocks » More

Soapstone vs Pseudotachylite

Soapstone vs Blueschist

Soapstone vs Serpentinite

» More

More Compare Metamorphic Rocks

Soapstone vs Tuff 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. Soapstone vs Tuff characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Soapstone and Properties of Tuff. Learn more about Soapstone vs Tuff in the next section. The interior uses of Soapstone include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Tuff include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Soapstone and Tuff, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Soapstone in construction industry include Manufacture of magnesium and dolomite refractories and that of Tuff include Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate.

More about Soapstone and Tuff

Here you can know more about Soapstone and Tuff. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Soapstone and Tuff consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Soapstone includes Albite, Apatite, Biotite, Calcite, Carbonate, Clay Minerals, Hornblende, Ilmenite, Micas, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Quartz and mineral content of Tuff includes Calcite, Chlorite. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Soapstone vs Tuff, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Soapstone is available in black, black to grey, green, grey colors whereas, Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors. Appearance of Soapstone is Dull, Banded and Foilated and that of Tuff is Dull, Vesicular and Foilated. Properties of rock is another aspect for Soapstone vs Tuff. The hardness of Soapstone is 1 and that of Tuff is 4-6. The types of Soapstone are Not Available whereas types of Tuff are Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Soapstone is black while that of Tuff is white. The specific heat capacity of Soapstone is 0.88 kJ/Kg K and that of Tuff is 0.20 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Soapstone is heat resistant, pressure resistant whereas Tuff is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.