How To Identify Marble Rock

Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms when limestone is subjected to the heat and pressure of metamorphism.

How to identify marble rock.

Very pure recrystallized calcite original rock. One of the finest materials to use in building is marble. Learning the characteristics of marble will help you identify it on sight. Marble tends to be light in color.

Marble is considered to be a strong hard stone even though its primary mineral calcite only has a mohs hardness of 3. The visible crystals in marble give it a characteristic granular surface and appearance but there are other properties used to identify the rock. In geology pictures of rocks can be used to help you best determine which of the three major types a particular rock belongs to. It s a natural form of rock from the earth so its colors and patterns are unique.

Holing these samples up to the light and slowly turning. Marble is a metamorphic rock that is created when limestone is subjected to a considerable amount of heat and pressure within the earth s crust making it a dense and durable material. Visit this section for a brief history of handmade marble manufacture and to see an image library to help you identify various types of handmade marbles. Limestone or dolostone environment.

It is composed primarily of the mineral calcite caco 3 and usually contains other minerals such as clay minerals micas quartz pyrite iron oxides and graphite under the conditions of metamorphism the calcite in the limestone recrystallizes to form a rock that is. A fake marble surface is often as aesthetically pleasing as a real one but it s important to be able to identify the difference so as not to pay the price of real marble when you re getting a considerably cheaper fake. Because of this the surface of marble shows scratches and wear. Authentic marble is a metaphoric rock formed by applying heat to limestone forming crystals of calcite a relatively soft mineral.

Marble can be scratched with a metal blade. Medium to coarser grained light coloured and calcite crystals may be visible. By comparing your rock sample with photographic examples you can identify key characteristics such as how the rock was formed what minerals and other materials it contains and where the rock may have come from. These veins form when the marble goes through its molten phase and are often composed of minerals like quartz feldspar or biotite though not every slab of marble has visible veins.

Non glass marbles marbles have been made from non glass materials such as wood clay and stone for hundreds if not thousands of years. Marble forms at many temperatures and pressures. Marble is one of the most common metamorphic rocks to be used in countertops and can be easily identified by the distinctive veins common in most marble surfaces.