Tezontle

File:Casa principal del mayorazgo.png showing tezontle walls with cantera accents.]]

Tezontle ({{langx|es|tezontle}}) is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide.{{cite web

| url = http://www.escuelacima.com/Tezontle.htm

| title = Tezontle

| language = Spanish

| accessdate = 2009-01-04}}

Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock.Segerstrom, K. (1962) Geology of South-central Hidalgo and Northeastern Mexico, USGS Bulletin 1104-C, page 124.

Uses

=Construction=

Tezontle can be mixed with concrete to form lightweight concrete blocks,{{cite book

| chapter = Tezontle aggregate substitute optimization in building blocks mixture.

| publisher = IEEE

| date = September 2007

| doi = 10.1109/CERMA.2007.4367704

| isbn = 978-0-7695-2974-5

| title = Electronics, Robotics and Automotive Mechanics Conference (CERMA 2007)

| last1 = Acevedo-Davila

| first1 = J.

| last2 = Torres-Trevino

| first2 = L.M.

| last3 = Gomez z

| first3 = Lauren Y.

| pages = 307–311

}} or mixed with cement to create stucco finishes. Many colonial buildings in Mexico use the reddish cut tezontle on their facades.

Tezontle is a common construction material in the Historic Center of Mexico City as the relatively light-weight stone helps impede a building from sinking into the unstable lake bed on which Mexico City was built.

=Other uses=

Non-building uses include its inclusion in flower arrangements and botanical gardens, as substrate for aquariums, and for temazcales and ovens.{{cite web |last1=Ramirez |first1=Moni |title=Tezontle: Uno de los materiales para la construcción favoritos en la Conquista |url=https://rubiconmexico.com/blog/tezontle-materiales-para-construccion-conquista/ |website=Rubicón México |access-date=25 November 2020}}

Tezontle is often used as the top layer of gravel on unpaved roads in Mexico.

Facades

References

{{Reflist}}

Category:Igneous rocks

Category:Volcanology

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