Granite

What is Granite? What is Granite Used For?

Article by: Hobart M. King, PhD, RPG

What is Granite?

Granite is a light-colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided
eye. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below Earth's surface.

Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica, amphiboles,

and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, gray, or white
color with dark mineral grains visible throughout the rock.

Granite in Yosemite Valley: Photograph of Yosemite Valley, California, showing the steep granite
cliffs that form the walls of the valley. Image copyright iStockphoto / photo75.

Table of Contents

 What Is Granite?
 The Best-Known Igneous Rock
 Granite in the Continental Crust
 Definitions of Granite
      Introductory Course Definition
      Petrologist's Definition
      Commercial Definition
 Uses of Granite
The Best-Known Igneous Rock

Granite is the best-known igneous rock. Many people recognize granite

because it is the most common igneous rock found at Earth's surface and
because granite is used to make many objects that they encounter in daily life.
These include countertops, floor tiles, paving stone, curbing, stair treads,
building veneer, and cemetery monuments. Granite is used all around us -
especially if you live in a large modern city.

Granite is also well known from its many world-famous natural exposures. These include: Stone
Mountain, Georgia; Yosemite Valley, California; Mount Rushmore, South Dakota; Pikes Peak,
Colorado; and White Mountains, New Hampshire.

Yosemite Nature Notes - Granite: This video examines some of the granites that create the scenic
and climbing pleasures of Yosemite National Park.

Granite in the Continental Crust

Introductory geology textbooks report that granite is the most abundant rock in the continental
crust. At the surface, granite is exposed in the cores of many mountain ranges, within large areas
known as "batholiths," and in the core areas of continents known as "shields."

The large mineral crystals in granite are evidence that it cooled slowly from molten rock
material. That slow cooling had to have occurred beneath Earth's surface and required a long
period of time to occur. If these granites are exposed at the surface today, the only way that could
have happened is if the granite rocks were uplifted and the overlying rocks were eroded.

Most parts of Earth's continents are covered with sediments or sedimentary rocks. The rocks
below are usually granites, metamorphosed granites, or closely related rocks. These deep
granites are often referred to as "basement rocks."

Multiple Definitions of Granite

The word "granite" is used in a variety of ways by different people.

A simple definition is used in introductory geology or earth science courses.

A more precise definition is used by petrologists (geologists who specialize in

the study of rocks).

And, the definition of granite expands wildly when used in the crushed

stone and dimension stone industries.
These multiple definitions of granite can lead to communication problems.
However, if you know who is using the word and who they are communicating
with, you can interpret the word in its proper context. Three common usages
of the word "granite" are explained below.

A) Introductory Course Definition

Granite is a coarse-grained, light-colored, igneous rock composed mainly of
feldspars and quartz; it also contains minor amounts of mica and amphibole
minerals (see the accompanying chart titled Generalized Composition Ranges
of Common Igneous Rocks). Once students know how to identify the minerals
in granite, this simple description enables them to identify the rock based
upon a visual inspection.

During that visual inspection, students should use a hand lens to confirm that
the minerals of granite are present in the rock. That inspection would involve
confirming that each of the minerals expected in granite is physically present
in the rock - and present in the proper proportion.

Here is a summary of what you might observe on a broken surface of granite:

Feldspar Minerals

Feldspar minerals are abundant in granite. They are usually white, gray, pink or reddish in
color. Many grains will exhibit two directions of cleavage that intersect at right angles. You
should be able to observe this cleavage pattern in granite with a hand lens.

Quartz

Quartz will usually be a transparent mineral that is colorless or gray in color. Many grains will
exhibit a conchoidal fracture - with a vitreous luster on the conchoidal fracture surfaces.

Mica Minerals

The mica minerals expected in granites include muscovite or biotite. Micas occur in very thin
sheets. They will often be in "books" of numerous sheets stacked upon one another. The surfaces
of these sheets will have a highly-reflective vitreous luster. The edges of a "stack of sheets" will
look similar to the edge of a stack of playing cards.
Amphibole Minerals

Amphibole minerals such as hornblende are dark in color and will often have a prismatic habit.

Rock & Mineral Kits: Get a rock, mineral, or fossil kit to learn more about Earth materials. The best
way to learn about rocks is to have specimens available for testing and examination.

A DV ER TI SE M E NT

B) Petrologist's Definition
Granite is a plutonic rock in which quartz makes up between 10 and 50 percent of the felsic
components. Alkali feldspar accounts for 65 to 90 percent of the total feldspar content. Applying
this definition requires the mineral identification and quantification abilities of a competent
geologist.

This type of analysis cannot be done precisely by a student in a classroom or a geologist in the
field. This is an example of the complexities that can be involved in assigning a formal name to
an igneous rock.

Many rocks identified as "granite" using the introductory course definition will not be called
"granite" by the petrologist. They might instead be alkali granites, granodiorites, pegmatites, or
aplites. These names are for specific types of granite.

These names require a consideration of the grain size and the mineral composition of the rock -
beyond determining that the rock is a granite. A petrologist might call these "granitoid rocks"
rather than granites. There are many types of granite based upon mineral composition and
texture.

Did You Know?

Azurite Granite, also called "K2 granite," is often cut into gems. People enjoy its blue and white colors.

The accompanying chart (Generalized Composition Ranges of Common Igneous Rocks)

illustrates the range of granite compositions. From the chart you can see that orthoclase
feldspar, quartz, plagioclase feldspar, micas, and amphiboles can each have a range of
abundances.
"Granite": All of the rocks above would be called "granite" in the commercial stone industry. Using
the terminology of geologists, they would be (clockwise from top left): granite, gneiss, pegmatite,
and labradorite. Click on any of their names above for an enlarged view. Each of the images above
represents a slab of polished rock about eight inches across.

C) Commercial Definition
The word "granite" is used in the crushed stone industry and in industries where granite is cut
into shapes for use in construction and architecture. These "granites" are used to make
countertops, floor tiles, curbing, building veneer, monuments, paving stones, and many other
products. Some "granites" are used with sawn, sheared, or rough surface. Others are polished to a
bright luster to show off color, patterns, and beauty.

In the commercial stone industry, a "granite" is a rock with visible grains that are harder
than marble. Under this definition, gabbro, basalt, pegmatite, schist, gneiss, diabase, diorite,
and many other igneous rocks will be called "granite."

Pegmatite: Photograph of a granite with very large crystals of orthoclase feldspar. Granites

composed mainly of crystals over one centimeter in diameter are known as "pegmatites." This rock
measures approximately four inches across.

Granitic rocks: This triangular diagram is a classification method for granitic rocks. It is based upon
the relative abundance of feldspars (K-Na-Ca) and quartz. Mafic elements are not considered. It is
modified after a classification chart prepared by the International Union of Geological Sciences.
Image and modification by the United States Geological Survey.

When "Granite" Is Inadequate

So, the name "granite" is a name used for igneous rocks that are composed of orthoclase
feldspar, quartz, plagioclase feldspar, micas and amphiboles, that are present in crystals large
enough to be visible with the unaided eye.

That name isn't specific enough for some purposes and for some people.

Special names are used for granitic rocks based upon their grain (crystal) size. If a granitic rock
has especially large grains (over one centimeter across) it is often called pegmatite. If it is an
especially fine-grained rock from crystallizing at a shallow depth it might be called aplite.

Granitic rocks that have a mineral composition that borders upon diorite might be called
granodiorite. Those especially rich in plagioclase feldspars, at the expense of alkali feldspars
might be called monzodiorites

The accompanying triangular diagram displays a classification method used for granitic rocks
based upon the relative abundances of quartz, alkali feldspars, and plagioclase feldspars. This is
not a chart for use by the beginning student of igneous rocks. It is a classification used by experts
who have the skills and equipment needed to quantify the mineral composition of the rock.

Granite Countertops: Granite countertops in a new kitchen. Image copyright iStockphoto /

Bernardo Grijalva.

Mount Rushmore: Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, South Dakota is a sculpture of United States
presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln
sculpted from a granite outcrop. Image copyright iStockphoto / Jonathan Larsen.

Uses of Granite

Granite is the rock most often quarried as a "dimension stone" (a natural rock material that will
be cut into blocks or slabs of specific length, width, and thickness). Granite is hard enough to
resist abrasion, strong enough to bear significant weight, inert enough to resist weathering, and it
accepts a brilliant polish. These characteristics make it a very desirable and useful dimension
stone.
Most of the granite dimension stone produced in the United States comes from high-quality
deposits in five states: Massachusetts, Georgia, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Idaho.

Granite has been used for thousands of years in both interior and exterior applications. Rough-
cut and polished granite is used in buildings, bridges, paving, monuments, and many other
exterior projects. Indoors, polished granite slabs and tiles are used as countertops, floor tiles, stair
treads, and many other practical and decorative features.

High price often reduces the popularity of a construction material. Granite often costs
significantly more than man-made materials. However, granite is frequently selected because it is
a prestige material, used in projects to produce impressions of elegance, durability, and lasting
quality.

Granite is also
used as a crushed
stone or
aggregate. In this
form it is used as
a base material at
construction Lapis Lazuli
sites, as an
aggregate in road
construction,
railroad ballast,
foundations,
and  

Reference: https://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml