Tuff

Pyroxenite

Tuff and Pyroxenite

Tuff

Pyroxenite

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Definition

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

Pyroxenite is a dark, greenish, granular intrusive igneous rock consisting mainly of pyroxenes and olivine

History

Origin

Italy

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

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

From pyro- fire + Greek xenos stranger as the mineral group was new to igneous rocks

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Plutonic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Pyroclastic

Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic

Color

Brown, Grey, Yellow

Black to Grey, Bluish - Grey, Dark Greenish - Grey, Green, Light Greenish Grey

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Countertops, Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

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

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Jewelry, Sea Defence, Tombstones

Types

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

Clinopyroxenites, Orthopyroxenites and Websterites

Features

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Generally rough to touch, Host rock for Diamond, 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.

Pyroxenites are ultramafic igneous rocks which are made up of minerals of the pyroxene group, such as augite and diopside, hypersthene, bronzite or enstatite.

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Chlorite

Amphibole, Augite, Bronzite, Chromite, Diopside, Enstatite, Garnet, Hornblende, Hypersthene, Magnetite, Pyroxene

Compound Content

Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Chromium(III) Oxide, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Sulfur Trioxide

Transformation

Metamorphism

✔ ✘

Types of Metamorphism

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

Burial Metamorphism, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

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

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

4-67

1 7

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Grain Size

Fine Grained

Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Streak

White

White, Greenish White or Grey

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Vitreous to Dull

Dull to Vitreous to Submetallic

Compressive Strength

243.80 N/mm²150.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

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Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.733.2-3.5

0 8.4

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Transparency

Opaque

Density

1-1.8 g/cm³3.1-3.6 g/cm³

0 1400

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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

Impact Resistant, Pressure 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

India, Russia

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

Germany, Greece, Italy, Scotland, Turkey

Others

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Greenland

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

Canada, USA

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

New Zealand, Queensland

All about Tuff and Pyroxenite Properties

Know all about Tuff and Pyroxenite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Tuff and Pyroxenite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Tuff is Clastic, Pyroclastic whereas that of Pyroxenite is Clastic, Granular, Phaneritic, Porphyritic. Tuff appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Pyroxenite appears Layered, Banded, Veined and Shiny. The luster of Tuff is vitreous to dull while that of Pyroxenite is dull to vitreous to submetallic. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas Pyroxenite is available in black to grey, bluish - grey, dark greenish - grey, green, light greenish grey colors. The commercial uses of Tuff are creating artwork and that of Pyroxenite are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, laboratory bench tops, jewelry, sea defence, tombstones.