Home
Compare Rocks


Tuff and Coal


Coal and Tuff


Definition

Definition
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption  
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers called coal beds  

History
  
  

Origin
Italy  
USA  

Discoverer
Unknown  
John Peter Salley  

Etymology
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff  
From the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century  

Class
Igneous Rocks  
Sedimentary Rocks  

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

Family
  
  

Group
Volcanic  
Not Applicable  

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

Texture

Texture
Clastic, Pyroclastic  
Amorphous, Glassy  

Color
Brown, Grey, Yellow  
Black, Brown, Dark Brown, Grey, Light to Dark Grey  

Maintenance
More  
Less  

Durability
Durable  
Durable  

Water Resistant
Yes  
No  

Scratch Resistant
Yes  
No  

Stain Resistant
No  
No  

Wind Resistant
No  
No  

Acid Resistant
No  
No  

Appearance
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated  
Veined or Pebbled  

Uses

Architecture
  
  

Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration  
Not Yet Used  

Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone  
Not Yet Used  

Other Architectural Uses
Curbing  
Not Yet Used  

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate  
Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, Steel Production  

Medical Industry
Not Yet Used  
Not Yet Used  

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines  
Artifacts  

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork  
Alumina Refineries, Electricity Generation, Liquid Fuel, Manufacture of Soap, Solvents, Dyes, Plastics and Fibres, Paper Industry  

Types

Types
Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.  
Peat, Lignite, Sub-Bituminous Coal, Bituminous Coal, Anthracite, Graphite  

Features
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust  
Helps in production of Heat and Electricity, Used as fossil fuel  

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
Used  
Not Yet Used  

Famous Monuments
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean  
Not Applicable  

Sculpture
Used  
Not Yet Used  

Famous Sculptures
Data Not Available  
Not Applicable  

Pictographs
Used  
Not Used  

Petroglyphs
Used  
Not Used  

Figurines
Used  
Not Yet Used  

Fossils
Absent  
Present  

Formation

Formation
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.  
Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris in a swamp environment which is buried by sediments such as mud or sand and then compacted to form coal.  

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Calcite, Chlorite  
Analcime, Apatite, Barite, Calcite, Chalcopyrite, Chlorite, Chromite, Clausthalite, Clay Minerals, Crandallite Group, Dolomite, Feldspar, Galena, Gypsum, Marcasite, Muscovite or Illite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite, Sphalerite, Zircon  

Compound Content
Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide  
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur  

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
Yes  
Yes  

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

Weathering
Yes  
No  

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  
Not Applicable  

Erosion
Yes  
No  

Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion  
Not Applicable  

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
4-6  
1-1.5  

Grain Size
Fine Grained  
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained  

Fracture
Uneven  
Conchoidal  

Streak
White  
Black  

Porosity
Highly Porous  
Less Porous  

Luster
Vitreous to Dull  
Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic  

Compressive Strength
243.80 N/mm2  
5
Not Available  

Cleavage
Not Available  
Non-Existent  

Toughness
Not Available  
Not Available  

Specific Gravity
2.73  
1.1-1.4  

Transparency
Opaque  
Opaque  

Density
1-1.8 g/cm3  
1100-1400 g/cm3  

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
0.20 kJ/Kg K  
25
1.32 kJ/Kg K  
4

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

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  

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

Africa
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda  
Botswana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania  

Europe
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom  
Belgium, Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom  

Others
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands  
Not Yet Found  

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

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

South America
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay  
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela  

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

Australia
Central Australia, Western Australia  
New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria  

Summary >>
<< Reserves

All about Tuff and Coal Properties

Know all about Tuff and Coal properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Tuff belongs to Igneous Rocks while Coal belongs to Sedimentary Rocks.Texture of Tuff is Clastic, Pyroclastic whereas that of Coal is Amorphous, Glassy. Tuff appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Coal appears Veined or Pebbled. The luster of Tuff is vitreous to dull while that of Coal is dull to vitreous to submetallic. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas Coal is available in black, brown, dark brown, grey, light to dark grey colors. The commercial uses of Tuff are creating artwork and that of Coal are alumina refineries, electricity generation, liquid fuel, manufacture of soap, solvents, dyes, plastics and fibres, paper industry.

Compare Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rocks

» More Igneous Rocks

Compare Igneous Rocks

» More Compare Igneous Rocks