Wehrlite

Blueschist

Wehrlite and Blueschist

Wehrlite

Blueschist

Add ⊕

Definition

Wehrlite is an ultramafic and ultrabasic rock that is a mixture of olivine and clinopyroxene. It is a subdivision of the peridotites

Blueschist is a metamorphic rock which is generally blue in color and is formed under conditions of high pressure and low temperature

History

Origin

Egypt

USA

Discoverer

Alois Wehrle

Edgar Bailey

Etymology

From the name of a professor, Alois Wehrle

From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split

Class

Igneous Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

Family

Group

Plutonic

Other Categories

Coarse Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

Texture

Banded

Foliated

Color

Dark Greenish - Grey, Green

Blue, Bluish - Grey, Purple, Shades of Blue

Maintenance

Less

Durability

Durable

Water Resistant

✔ ✘

Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

Appearance

Rough and Banded

Dull and Banded

Uses

Architecture

Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration

Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Kitchens

Exterior Uses

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

Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

Industry

Construction Industry

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones

As Dimension Stone, Cobblestones, Rail Track Ballast, Roadstone

Medical Industry

Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture

Other Uses

Commercial Uses

Cemetery Markers, Creating Artwork, Gemstone, Jewelry

Cemetery Markers, Commemorative Tablets, Creating Artwork, Curling, Tombstones

Types

Ultramafic rock

Metamorphic rock

Features

Constitutes upper part of the Earth's mantle, Generally rough to touch, Is one of the oldest rock

Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate, Very fine grained rock

Archaeological Significance

Monuments

Famous Monuments

Sculpture

Famous Sculptures

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Figurines

Fossils

Absent

Formation

Wehrlite 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.

Blueschist forms due to the metamorphism of basalt and other rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures and approximately corresponding to a depth of 15 to 30 kilometers and 200 to 500 °C.

Composition

Mineral Content

Pyroxene

Albite, Chlorite, Epidote, Garnet, Glaucophane, Lawsonite, Muscovite or Illite, Quartz

Compound Content

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Carbon Dioxide, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Phosphorus Pentoxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium 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, Impact Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

Weathering

✔ ✘

Types of Weathering

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

Mechanical Weathering

Erosion

✔ ✘

Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion

Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

Properties

Physical Properties

Hardness

5.5-63.5-4

1 7

👆🏻

Grain Size

Coarse Grained

Fine to Medium Grained

Fracture

Irregular

Conchoidal

Streak

White

White to Grey

Porosity

Less Porous

Highly Porous

Luster

Metallic

Dull

Compressive Strength

100.00 N/mm²220.00 N/mm²

0.15 450

👆🏻

Cleavage

Perfect

Slaty

Toughness

2.1

1.5

Specific Gravity

8.43-3.2

0 8.4

👆🏻

Transparency

Opaque

Density

2.6-3.7 g/cm³2.8-2.9 g/cm³

0 1400

👆🏻

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat Capacity

0.63 kJ/Kg K0.84 kJ/Kg K

0.14 3.2

👆🏻

Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents

Asia

China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey

Japan, Turkey

Africa

Morocco, South Africa

Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa

Europe

Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland

France, Greece, Iceland

Others

Deposits in Western Continents

North America

Canada, USA

USA

South America

Brazil

Deposits in Oceania Continent

Australia

New Zealand, Western Australia

New Zealand

All about Wehrlite and Blueschist Properties

Know all about Wehrlite and Blueschist properties here. All properties of rocks are important as they define the type of rock and its application. Wehrlite belongs to Igneous Rocks while Blueschist belongs to Metamorphic Rocks.Texture of Wehrlite is Banded whereas that of Blueschist is Foliated. Wehrlite appears Rough and Banded and Blueschist appears Dull and Banded. The luster of Wehrlite is metallic while that of Blueschist is dull. Wehrlite is available in dark greenish - grey, green colors whereas Blueschist is available in blue, bluish - grey, purple, shades of blue colors. The commercial uses of Wehrlite are cemetery markers, creating artwork, gemstone, jewelry and that of Blueschist are cemetery markers, commemorative tablets, creating artwork, curling, tombstones.