Home
Compare Rocks


Tuff and Phyllite


Phyllite and Tuff


Definition

Definition
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption  
Phyllite is a fine-grained metamorphic rock with a well-developed laminar structure, and is intermediate between slate and schist rocks  

History
  
  

Origin
Italy  
-  

Discoverer
Unknown  
Unknown  

Etymology
From a Latin word tophous then in Italian tufo and finally tuff  
From Greek phullon leaf + -ite1  

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

Texture

Texture
Clastic, Pyroclastic  
Phyllitic Sheen, Slaty  

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

Maintenance
More  
More  

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  
Crinkled or Wavy  

Uses

Architecture
  
  

Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration  
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, 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  

Other Architectural Uses
Curbing  
Curbing  

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate  
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone  

Medical Industry
-  
-  

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines  
Artifacts, Sculpture  

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Creating Artwork  
Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Writing Slates  

Types

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

Features
Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust  
Easily splits into thin plates, Is one of the oldest rock, Surfaces are often shiny  

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
-  
-  

Famous Monuments
Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean  
-  

Sculpture
-  
-  

Famous Sculptures
-  
-  

Pictographs
-  
-  

Petroglyphs
-  
-  

Figurines
-  
-  

Fossils
Absent  
Absent  

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.  
Phyllite is a metamorphic rock which is formed by regional metamorphism of argillaceous sediments since their cleavage arose due to deviatoric stress.  

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Calcite, Chlorite  
Albite, Alusite, Amphibole, Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc, Zircon  

Compound Content
Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide  
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO  

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
Yes  
No  

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

Weathering
Yes  
Yes  

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering  

Erosion
Yes  
Yes  

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

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
4-6  
1-2  

Grain Size
Fine Grained  
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained  

Fracture
Uneven  
Conchoidal  

Streak
White  
White  

Porosity
Highly Porous  
Highly Porous  

Luster
Vitreous to Dull  
Phyllitic  

Compressive Strength
243.80 N/mm2  
6
50.00 N/mm2  
39

Cleavage
-  
Crenulation and Pervasive  

Toughness
-  
1.2  

Specific Gravity
2.73  
2.72-2.73  

Transparency
Opaque  
Opaque  

Density
1-1.8 g/cm3  
2.18-3.3 g/cm3  

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
0.20 kJ/Kg K  
32
0.79 kJ/Kg K  
17

Resistance
Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant  
Heat Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water 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  
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam  

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

Europe
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom  
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland  

Others
Antarctica, Hawaii Islands  
-  

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

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

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

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

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

Summary >>
<< Reserves

All about Tuff and Phyllite Properties

Know all about Tuff and Phyllite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Tuff belongs to Igneous Rocks while Phyllite belongs to Metamorphic Rocks.Texture of Tuff is Clastic, Pyroclastic whereas that of Phyllite is Phyllitic Sheen, Slaty. Tuff appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Phyllite appears Crinkled or Wavy. The luster of Tuff is vitreous to dull while that of Phyllite is phyllitic. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas Phyllite is available in black to grey, light greenish grey colors. The commercial uses of Tuff are creating artwork and that of Phyllite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork, writing slates.

Compare Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rocks

Igneous Rocks

» More Igneous Rocks

Compare Igneous Rocks

» More Compare Igneous Rocks