Obsidian (Igneous rock)

Texture

Glassy texture Similar to ordinary glass. Aphanitic, even or porphyritic

Colour

Black N1 Combination green and black

Mineral Composition

Rhyolite Iron oxide - how this volcanic glass receives its color of black. Volcanic glass with a composition similar to basalt and gabbro

Chemical composition

Silica (about 65 to 80 percent) Low in water Has similar composition to rhyolite and granite

Origin

Along the edges of lava flow (extrusive) Along the edges of a sill or a dykes (intrusive) Where lava contacts water (extrusive) Where lava cools while air bone (extrusive) Formed as an extrusive rock and cools rapidly thats atoms unable to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure.


Fossil Limestone (Sedimentary rock)

Most of these rocks are formed of materials which have been moved from their place of origin to the present site of deposition. Sedimentary layers form slowly, usually over millions of years.

Colour

Very light grey N8 Grey through yellow.

Texture

Bioclastic (crystalline) Mix of clastic materials and calcitic shells clastic or non-clastic.

Mineral composition

Composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite more than 50% calcium carbonate (calcite - CaCO3)

Chemical composition

Precipitation of calcium carbonate from lake or ocean water. Calcite readily reacts with a small drop of HCl.(gaseous and cloudy)

Origin

Occurs in areas underlain by sedimentary rocks Biochemical Sediment is deposited in a number of environments of deposition, by both moving air and moving water. As a filter stone in on-site sewage disposal systems.
Used as a construction material

Uses

Used as crushed stone for road base and railroad ballast Powdered limestone is also used as a sorbent (a substance that absorbs pollutants) at many coal-burning facilities

 Gneiss (Metamorphic Rock)

Widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic process Change of form

Texture

Foliated texture A broad term referring to the alignment of sheet-like minerals Compositional banding due to segregation of minerals

Colour

Medium light grey

Mineral composition

Quartz Potassium feldspar Sodium feldspar

Chemical composition

High in silica content Medium- to coarse foliated

Origin

Characterized by bending caused by segregation of different types of rock Typically light and dark silicates Mostly elongated and granular structures rather than sheets or plates Form from the metamorphism of granite or diorite

Uses

Flooring Ornamental stone Facing stone