What is slate

People exploit this property of slate to produce thin sheets of slate that are used in construction projects and manufacturing. Slate tile flooring: Slate is a durable rock that is suitable for use as flooring, stair treads, sidewalk slabs, and patio stone. It is also produced in a variety of colors that allow it to be incorporated into a variety of design projects. Shown above are multi-color flooring tiles. Most of the slate mined throughout the world is used to produce roofing slates.

Slate is also used for interior flooring, exterior paving, dimension stone, and decorative aggregate. Small pieces of slate are also used to make turkey calls. The photos on this page document several uses of slate. Historically slate has been used for chalkboards, student writing slates, billiard tables, cemetery markers, whetstones, and table tops. Because it is a good electrical insulator, it was also used for early electric panels and switch boxes.

What Minerals are in Slate? What is Slate Used For? Article by: Hobart M. Find Other Topics on Geology. Maps Volcanoes World Maps. Rock, Mineral and Fossil Collections. Resource center. Slate is derived from fine-grained sediments such as mud or occasionally volcanic ash laid down millions of years ago in layers known as bedding.

As the pile of sediments thickened, the original open structure of the mud was compacted into a mudstone or shale. These rocks are easily split on the bedding planes and are referred to as flagstones. However, for a slate to form, subsequent intense geological forces associated with mountain building are required, during which the minerals present in the original mudstone are metamorphosed. Some minerals, such as quartz grains, are flattened and stretched, while clay minerals are recrystallised as platy minerals: white mica and chlorite.

The quartz minerals give the slate strength and durability, while the platy minerals form cleavage planes, which do not correspond to the bedding planes, but which allow the rock to be split into much thinner slabs suitable as roofing material.

Differences in the composition of the original mudstone and the degree of metamorphism affect the quality of the slates thus produced. Slate has a long tradition as a construction material. Learn More About slate. Time Traveler for slate The first known use of slate was in the 14th century See more words from the same century. Phrases Related to slate clean slate slate gray wipe the slate clean.

Statistics for slate Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. More Definitions for slate. English Language Learners Definition of slate. Kids Definition of slate.

Get Word of the Day daily email! There was also a major slating operation in Monson, Maine during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The slate found in Monson is usually a dark purple to blackish color, and many local structures are still roofed with slate tiles. Of many operations there is only one business currently operating. The output was so great it formed a train route throughout the woods of Monson and as many as 18 quarries were made.

Slate is also found in the Arctic and was used by the Inuit to make the blades for ulus. China has vast slate deposits; in recent years its export of finished and unfinished slate has increased. Jenson Vanities James Martin Vanities. Design Services What's New? What is Limestone? What is Marble? What is Sandstone? What is Shale? What is Slate? What is Soapstone?