Tezontle (Spanish: tezontle) is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide.[1] Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock.[2]

One of the Houses of the Mayorazgo de Guerrero showing tezontle walls with cantera accents.

Uses

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Construction

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Tezontle can be mixed with concrete to form lightweight concrete blocks,[3] or mixed with cement to create stucco finishes.[1] 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

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Non-building uses include its inclusion in flower arrangements and botanical gardens, as substrate for aquariums, and for temazcales and ovens.[4]

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

Facades

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Many buildings use tezontle to create an aesthetic facade. Here are some examples.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tezontle" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  2. ^ Segerstrom, K. (1962) Geology of South-central Hidalgo and Northeastern Mexico, USGS Bulletin 1104-C, page 124.
  3. ^ Acevedo-Davila, J.; Torres-Trevino, L.M.; Gomez z, Lauren Y. (September 2007). "Tezontle aggregate substitute optimization in building blocks mixture.". Electronics, Robotics and Automotive Mechanics Conference (CERMA 2007). IEEE. pp. 307–311. doi:10.1109/CERMA.2007.4367704. ISBN 978-0-7695-2974-5.
  4. ^ Ramirez, Moni. "Tezontle: Uno de los materiales para la construcción favoritos en la Conquista". Rubicón México. Retrieved 25 November 2020.