Definition
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption
Hornfels is a metamorphic rock formed by the contact between mudstone or other clay rich rock, and a hot igneous body, and represents a heat altered equivalent of the original rock
History
Origin
Italy
New Zealand
Discoverer
Unknown
Unknown
Etymology
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff
From German which means hornstone
Class
Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
Family
Group
Volcanic
-
Other Categories
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
Texture
Clastic, Pyroclastic
Granular, Platy
Color
Brown, Grey, Yellow
Brown, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Reddish Brown
Maintenance
More
Less
Durability
Durable
Durable
Water Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Scratch Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Stain Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Wind Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Acid Resistant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Appearance
Dull, Vesicular and Foilated
Dull
Architecture
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration
Exterior Uses
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings, Paving Stone
Other Architectural Uses
Curbing
Curbing
Industry
Construction Industry
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate
for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
Medical Industry
-
-
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
Artifacts, Monuments
Other Uses
Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork
Types
Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite.
Biotite hornfels
Features
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust
Smooth to touch
Archaeological Significance
Monuments
-
-
Famous Monuments
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean
-
Sculpture
-
-
Famous Sculptures
-
-
Pictographs
-
-
Petroglyphs
-
-
Figurines
-
-
Fossils
Absent
Absent
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.
Due to change in environmental conditions, rocks are heated and pressurized deep inside the Earth's surface. Hornfels is formed from the extreme heat caused by magma or by the intense collisions and friction of tectonic plates.
Composition
Mineral Content
Calcite, Chlorite
Andalusite
Compound Content
Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide
Fe, Mg
Transformation
Metamorphism
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Metamorphism
Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Hydrothermal Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism
-
Weathering
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
Biological Weathering
Erosion
✔
✘
✔
✘
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion
Physical Properties
Hardness
4-62-3
1
7
👆🏻
Grain Size
Fine Grained
Fine Grained
Fracture
Uneven
Conchoidal
Streak
White
-
Porosity
Highly Porous
Highly Porous
Luster
Vitreous to Dull
Shiny
Compressive Strength
243.80 N/mm25.80 N/mm2
0.15
450
👆🏻
Cleavage
-
Perfect
Toughness
-
-
Specific Gravity
2.733.4-3.9
0
8.4
👆🏻
Transparency
Opaque
Opaque
Density
1-1.8 g/cm30.25-0.30 g/cm3
0
1400
👆🏻
Thermal Properties
Specific Heat Capacity
0.20 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K
0.14
3.2
👆🏻
Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant
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, Bhutan, China, India, North Korea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand
Africa
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda
Cameroon, East Africa, Tanzania, Western Africa
Europe
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Others
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands
-
Deposits in Western Continents
North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA
Canada, USA
South America
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador
Deposits in Oceania Continent
Australia
Central Australia, Western Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Western Australia