Tuff

Tachylite

Tuff and Tachylite

Tuff

Tachylite

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Definition

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

Tachylite is a vitreous form of basaltic volcanic glass. This glass is formed naturally by the rapid cooling of molten basalt

History

Origin

Italy

Iceland

Discoverer

Unknown

Etymology

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

From German Tachylite, from tachy- + Greek lutos soluble, melting

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

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

Texture

Clastic, Pyroclastic

Vitreous

Color

Brown, Grey, Yellow

Black, Dark Brown

Maintenance

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Glassy

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

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

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

Building houses or walls, Construction Aggregate

Cutting Tool, Knives, Landscaping, Scrapers

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork

Types

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

Volcanic glass

Features

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Available in Lots of Colors and Patterns, Clasts are smooth to touch

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.

Tachylite 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

Feldspar, Olivine

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

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

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

Chemical Erosion, Sea Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

4-65.5

1 7

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Grain Size

Fine Grained

Medium to Fine Coarse Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Conchoidal

Streak

White

Vermilion

Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

Luster

Vitreous to Dull

Resinous

Compressive Strength

243.80 N/mm²206.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.732.4

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

1-1.8 g/cm³3.058 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.20 kJ/Kg K0.56 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

Cambodia, Russia, South Korea

Africa

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

East Africa

Europe

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

England, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Scotland, Sweden

Others

Antarctica, Hawaii Islands

Hawaii Islands

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, USA

USA

South America

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

Victoria

All about Tuff and Tachylite Properties

Know all about Tuff and Tachylite properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Tuff and Tachylite belong to Igneous Rocks.Texture of Tuff is Clastic, Pyroclastic whereas that of Tachylite is Vitreous. Tuff appears Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and Tachylite appears Glassy. The luster of Tuff is vitreous to dull while that of Tachylite is resinous. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas Tachylite is available in black, dark brown colors. The commercial uses of Tuff are creating artwork and that of Tachylite are cemetery markers, creating artwork.