Hobbies And Interests
Color
Pure quartzite is often a white or grayish color, although various shades of pink and red quartzite are common due to differing amounts of iron oxide in the stone. Other colors of quartzite, such as yellow and orange, also exist due to certain mineral impurities.
Texture
Quartzite breaks smoothly, unlike sandstone, which produces a rough and granular break. This is because quartzite breaks though the quartz grains instead of around them. Quartzite often has a uniform texture made up mostly of fused quartz sand grains.
Appearance
Quartzite has a glassy luster and granular appearance. Quartzite weathers slowly and therefore often projects out of hills or mountains, much like sandstone. This is because the high silica content of quartzite provides little opportunity for soil to form and therefore vegetation has a hard time taking root on exposed quartzite areas. For example, many ridges along the Appalachian Mountains are composed of beds of quartzite.
Uses
Quartzite is primarily quarried for making bricks, paving blocks, railroad ballast, roofing granules and other stone manufacturing purposes.