Tuff

Litchfieldite

Tuff and Litchfieldite

Tuff

Litchfieldite

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Definition

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

Litchfieldite is a rare igneous rock which is coarse-grained, foliated and a variety of nepheline syenite, sometimes also called as nepheline syenite gneiss or gneissic nepeheline syenite

History

Origin

Italy

USA

Discoverer

Unknown

Bayley

Etymology

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

From its occurrence at Litchfield, Maine, USA

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Pyroclastic

Granular

Color

Brown, Grey, Yellow

Brown, Buff, Cream, Green, Grey, Pink, White

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Banded and Foilated

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Flooring, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Landscaping, Making natural cement, Manufacture of Magnesium and Dolomite Refractories, Production of Glass and Ceramics

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork

Types

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

Borolanite and Litchfieldite

Features

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Application of acids on the surface causes cloudy frosting, Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Dissolves in hydrochloric acid, Is one of the oldest rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

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.

Litchfieldite 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.

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Chlorite

Albite, Amphibole, Biotite, Cancrinite, Feldspar, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Pyroxene, Sodalite

Compound Content

Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, MnO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

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

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Contact Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Biological Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

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

Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

4-65.5-6

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Conchoidal to Uneven

Streak

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Vitreous to Dull

Greasy to Dull

Compressive Strength

243.80 N/mm²150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.732.6

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Translucent to Opaque

Density

1-1.8 g/cm³2.6 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.20 kJ/Kg K0.79 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Wear 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

Africa

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

South Africa

Europe

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

Finland, Norway, Portugal

Others

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

Canada

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

All about Tuff and Litchfieldite Properties

Know all about Tuff and Litchfieldite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Tuff and Litchfieldite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Tuff is Clastic, Pyroclastic whereas that of Litchfieldite is Granular. Tuff appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Litchfieldite appears Banded and Foilated. The luster of Tuff is vitreous to dull while that of Litchfieldite is greasy to dull. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas Litchfieldite is available in brown, buff, cream, green, grey, pink, white colors. The commercial uses of Tuff and Litchfieldite are creating artwork.