Natural Stone: Types and Uses

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Natural Stone Types and Uses
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Granite

• An igneous rock of volcanic origin, usually
  containing 10 to 50 percent quartz, at least 50
  percent feldspar and some silica.
• Most granites are resistant to abrasion,
  weathering and chemicals.
• Feldspar gives them their color.
• Volcanic flow that cools slowly has bigger
  crystals while flows that cool rapidly have very
  small crystals.

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Quartzite

• A sedimentary rock composed of fine grains of
  quartz sand bonded by a cementing material,
  commonly silica, iron oxide or calcium carbonate.
  
• Quartzite is usually very dense, hard to scratch
  and abrasion resistant.
• If often features veins and complex color
  patterns similar in appearance to marble.

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Serpentine

• A metamorphic rock composed predominately of
  magnesium silicate.
• Typically green in color. Serpentines are thought
  to be formed very deep undersea by magma emerging
  through cracks in the ocean floor at temperatures
  up to around 500 degrees Celsius.

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Soapstone

• Soapstone is a serpentine containing talc white
  makes it feel like a bar of soap.
• The talc also makes it easy to scratch, a
  characteristic preferred in rustic décor.
• Often used as countertops in chemistry labs,
  where its resistance to acids is important, and
  on fireplaces where its unique heat retention
  characteristic is valued.

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Limestone

• A sedimentary rock consisting chiefly of the
  mineral calcite.
• Often contains fossils or shell formations,
  formed as bones and shells of fish accumulated on
  the sea floor.
• Ancient sea beds have become hills and mountains,
  allowing quarrying.

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Marble

• A metamorphic rock consisting of coarse grained
  re-crystallized calcite.
• Most marbles were originally lime natural stones
  that underwent tremendous pressure and heat,
  causing the limestone to meal then re-crystalize.
  
• In most cases the resulting stone, marble, is
  more dense and durable than limestone.

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Travertine

• A sedimentary rock, travertine is a type of lime
  natural stone that formed by evaporation of hot
  water containing dissolved calcium, thus leaving
  finely crystalized calcite deposits.
• These deposits accumulate in horizontal layers
  over thousands of years.
• Its natural color is white.

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Onyx

• A compact sedimentary rock is a type of lime
  natural stone that formed by evaporation of cold
  water containing dissolved calcium, leaving a
  translucent variety of calcite, often in the form
  of stalagmite and stalactites inside caves.
• Its natural color is translucent white.
• The other colors usually come from minute
  concentrations of chemicals carried by water
  dripping into the cave.

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