What kind of rocks are these?
- Thread starter Anchundan
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Looks like a type of dolomite (Calcium Magnesium Carbonate) to me.
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Yes, they are definitely rocks.
Agreed, certainly rocks.
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Soldato
I eventually went back to that mini-quarry to take more close-up photos and take some samples. There was very heavy rain that day, so the rocks are all soaking wet.
I'm not convinced it's limestone, as I was expecting to see white bubbles with the vinegar. Is there anything else it could be?
It is predominantly Granite and Limestone and what looks like slate.
Granite is chemically inert hence no reaction.
Where is the quarry, you could google the geology.
Thanks for the replies.
This place is in China, Latitude : 40° 0'0.00"N, Longitude : 119°26'53.00"E. I actually want to buy some land on top of this hill, but not sure if it is suitable.
The reason I didn't think the samples were sandstone is they are quite hard, and difficult to scratch (well, the left one anyway). They don't crumble easily.
This place is in China, Latitude : 40° 0'0.00"N, Longitude : 119°26'53.00"E. I actually want to buy some land on top of this hill, but not sure if it is suitable.
The reason I didn't think the samples were sandstone is they are quite hard, and difficult to scratch (well, the left one anyway). They don't crumble easily.
Granite, the hills show typical rounded weathering and joint fracturing of weathering (just look at some images of Yosemite or even Haytor - Dartmoor). The first close ups look like a microgranite, fine grained rock, pink feldspar visible. If its inert to dilute acid (hydrochloric) then there is no calcite present hence not limestone. Sandstone is easy to distinguish as under magnification you should be able to see the individual sand particles unless it has been baked by metamorphism which will give it a more even texture. For the samples you took home, look for shell like fracture in the tiny whitish quartz grains, and if you see feldspar this tends to look 'pearly' and has has in place shiny flat surfaces (cleavages). Feldspars don't survive weathering process that well so are uncommon in sandstones. The black specs might be dark mica (muscovite, phlogopite), and can easily be dinstinguished as they have a perfect cleavage and can 'flake' easily. Without actually seeing the rock in hand (and its usually very difficult by images alone) all these point to microgranite, basically a fine grained granite.
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I agree with Amadeus, the area is almost certainly Granite.
Its possibly Quartzite.
It looks pretty similar to some of the rock at the quarry i used to work at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzite
These 3 are the ones which remind me most of the rock from the quarry i worked at.
And the ones in the OP.
It looks pretty similar to some of the rock at the quarry i used to work at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzite
These 3 are the ones which remind me most of the rock from the quarry i worked at.
And the ones in the OP.