What is the difference between siltstone and shale

Viewed 15k times. But as far as I know we don't use the terms claystone and mudstone in Spanish terms. Improve this question. Fred Alvaro Morales Alvaro Morales 1 1 gold badge 4 4 silver badges 10 10 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Shales, mudstones and claystones are rock types that are very similar to each other.

Siltstone - greater than half of the composition is silt-sized particles. Claystone - greater than half of the composition is clay-sized particles. Mudstone - hardened mud; a mix of silt and clay sized particles. The terms shale and claystone are sometimes used interchangeably. Improve this answer. Gary Kindel Gary Kindel 5, 2 2 gold badges 10 10 silver badges 29 29 bronze badges. Mightn't it be necessary to call something with the right particle size but no clay minerals mudstone?

Keep in mind the above chart only applies to CLASTIC rock, grains size by itself is not enough becasue without water it does not become clay in a chemical sense, but waterless conditions are so rare on earth that for all intents and purposes, grains that size in SOIL can be assumed to be clay minerals. Even a close-up view reveals no visible grains in these chips of shale.

A little nibble on a corner indicates that this is a claystone. Shale is a fine grained, hard, laminated mudrock , consisting of clay minerals, and quartz and feldspar silt. There are many varieties of shale, including calcareous and organic-rich; however, black shale, or organic-rich shale, deserves further evaluation. Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that is formed when silt and clay are compressed.

It is composed of many thin layers, and it readily splits into thin pieces where these layers meet—making it a relatively brittle stone. Shale is composed of small grains and various minerals along with organic particles. Solid rock, such as crystalline bedrock, bears the most weight of any type of soil, making it one building option. However, some types of sedimentary rock, such as shale, are not always a safe option on which to build.

In time, sedimentary rock can break apart, causing the ground to shift beneath your structure. Gold in black shales has become one of the most important deposit types for gold exploration in northern China. Although gold deposits in black shales have been studied for several decades, their genesis and mineralization mechanism are still a matter of controversy. It's closing in on the 2 million barrels a day produced by Texas. In 20 years, its number of wells could increase from the current 8, to at least 40, Part of the reason for expansion is that each well runs dry after about two years.

The United States has the largest known resource of oil shale in the world - an estimated 6 trillion barrels 1. Other significant deposits of oil shale can be found in Russia, Brazil, Estonia, and China. Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil ; however, extracting shale oil is more costly than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its environmental impact.

Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including major deposits in the United States. These oil shale resources underlie a total area of 16, square miles and represent the largest known concentration of oil shale in the world. Whats the difference between siltstone and shale? These rocks are smooth to the touch. Shales and mudstones commonly contain silt- size particles as well as clay. Shales that are subject to heat and pressure of metamorphism alter into a hard, fissile, metamorphic rock known as slate.

With continued increase in metamorphic grade the sequence is phyllite, then schist and finally gneiss. The main difference between Shale and Clay is that the Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock and Clay is a soft rock based compound often used for sculpture and tools. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. Diorite, medium- to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock that commonly is composed of about two-thirds plagioclase feldspar and one-third dark-coloured minerals, such as hornblende or biotite.

Andesite is a volcanic rock. Andesite forms from magma that contains less quartz silica than rhyolite but more than basalt.

Mineral content — groundmass generally of pyroxene augite and plagioclase, possibly with minor amounts of amphibole hornblende and glass; phenocrysts of plagioclase and often pyroxene, occasionally olivine or amphibole. Andesite most commonly denotes fine-grained, usually porphyritic rocks; in composition these correspond roughly to the intrusive igneous rock diorite and consist essentially of andesine a plagioclase feldspar and one or more ferromagnesian minerals, such as pyroxene or biotite.

Siltstone, hardened sedimentary rock that is composed primarily of angular silt-sized particles 0. What is Siltstone? Siltstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of silt-sized particles. It forms where water, wind, or ice deposit silt, and the silt is then compacted and cemented into a rock. Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when limestone is exposed to high temperatures and pressures.