Tuff

Travertine

Tuff vs Travertine

Tuff

Travertine

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Definition

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

Travertine is a mineral consisting of layered calcium carbonate formed by deposition from spring waters

History

Origin

Italy

Discoverer

Unknown

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

Etymology

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

From Italian travertino a kind of building stone, from Tiburs, adjective from Tibur (Tivoli), in Italy

Class

Igneous Rocks

Sedimentary Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Volcanic

Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Clastic, Pyroclastic

Banded

Color

Brown, Grey, Yellow

Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Grey, Red, White, Yellow

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Dull, Vesicular and Foilated

Fibrous

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes, Interior Decoration

Exterior Uses

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

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

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, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Jewellery, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry, Paper Industry, Pottery

Types

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

Thermal Travertine and Tufa

Features

Always found as volcanic pipes over deep continental crust

Stalactites and stalagmites are formed from this rock, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Easter Island in the Polynesian Triangle, Pacific Ocean

Colosseum in Rome, Italy, Sacré Coeur in Paris, France, Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Present

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.

Travertine is a type of sedimentary rock formed when a river carries or transports pieces of broken rock which then undergo sedimentation. They are then subjected to high temperature and pressure hence forming travertine rock.

Composition

Mineral Content

Calcite, Chlorite

Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz

Compound Content

Hydrogen Sulfide, Sulfur Dioxide

Ca, NaCl, CaO, Oxygen

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, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

4-63-4

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Fine Grained

Fracture

Uneven

Splintery

Streak

White

Porosity

Highly Porous

Luster

Vitreous to Dull

Dull to Pearly

Compressive Strength

243.80 N/mm²80.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Toughness

Specific Gravity

2.731.68

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

1-1.8 g/cm³2.71 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.20 kJ/Kg K1.09 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

China, Russia

Africa

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

Europe

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

Austria, Italy, Portugal, 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

Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

Central Australia, Western Australia

Tuff vs Travertine Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Tuff and Travertine Reserves. Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Travertine is a mineral consisting of layered calcium carbonate formed by deposition from spring waters. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Tuff vs Travertine information and Tuff vs Travertine characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Tuff vs Travertine Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Tuff vs Travertine characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Tuff and Properties of Travertine. Learn more about Tuff vs Travertine in the next section. The interior uses of Tuff include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Travertine include Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Flooring, Homes and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Tuff and Travertine, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Tuff in construction industry include Building houses or walls, Construction aggregate and that of Travertine include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, Construction aggregate, For road aggregate, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar.

More about Tuff and Travertine

Here you can know more about Tuff and Travertine. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Tuff and Travertine consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Tuff includes Calcite, Chlorite and mineral content of Travertine includes Calcite, Clay, Feldspar, Micas, Quartz. You can also check out the list of all Igneous Rocks. When we have to compare Tuff vs Travertine, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Tuff is available in brown, grey, yellow colors whereas, Travertine is available in beige, black, blue, brown, grey, red, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Tuff is Dull, Vesicular and Foilated and that of Travertine is Fibrous. Properties of rock is another aspect for Tuff vs Travertine. The hardness of Tuff is 4-6 and that of Travertine is 3-4. The types of Tuff are Welded tuff, Rhyolitic tuff, Basaltic tuff, Trachyte tuff, Andesitic tuff and Ignimbrite. whereas types of Travertine are Thermal Travertine and Tufa. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Tuff and Travertine is white. The specific heat capacity of Tuff is 0.20 kJ/Kg K and that of Travertine is 1.09 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Tuff is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Travertine is impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.