gardengal wrote:
jzfredricks wrote:
Sheldon wrote:

It's obviously red slate, one of the more scarce colors. �
Chances of finding an exact match is slim. �

ty both.

I'm not after an 'exact' match, just something pretty close.

I like the 'smoothness' and uniform colour of the stone. Not the
colour itself, just the fact that it's not 'messy'.

googling 'quartzite' led to some interesting research. I'll go check
out 'red slate' now.

Quartzite doesn't cleave so it wouldn't be used for paving stones.
Quartzite is typically crushed and used for roadbeds and railroad tie
ballast.

How anyone can determine from just looking at a photo......and not a
very large one, either.....exactly what type of stone that is is
really quite remarkable. There are literally 1000's of different kinds
of flagstones available. It is not "obviously" anything, but it could
be some type of sandstone.

You're just demonstrating to everyone how obtuse and ignorant you are.

Flagstone is no particular kind of rock, flagstone can be any type of
rock that is cut to a square/rectangular geometric (flag)
configuration. Sandstone (sedimentary rock) is very different from
slate (metamorphic rock). It's really quite simple to determine slate
from a picture, especially in the excellent image offered by the OP
that shows the opulant cleavage that can only indicate slate.

Not all kinds of flagstone are available
everywhere......stone tends to be rather regional in its nature as it
costs a heck of a lot to ship any distance.

You keep tossing out the term flagstone like it was a type of rock,
it's not... formed concrete pavers are flagstones... and for
geological identification purposes the correct nomenclature is rock,
not "stone"... a mile stone/grave stone can be any type of rock.

It costs far more to ship perishable foods than rock... because it's
not perishable, fragile, or irreplaceable, rock is probably the least
expensive commodity to ship... it costs no more to ship rock than it
does to ship bottled water.

Most kids with an aquarium know the different rocks just from visiting
pet shops. One needn't be a genius to learn how to determine the
differences in metamorphic rock, even you can do it...

http://geology.about.com/library/bl/...lrockindex.htm