Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite often has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. On occassion some individual crystals which are called phenocrysts, are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic texture is sometimes known as a porphyry. Granite can be pink to grey in colour, depending on their chemistry and mineralogy. Granite can be defined as an igneous rock with at least 20% quartz by volume. Granite is different from granodiorite as it has at least 35% of the feldspar in granite is alkali feldsparas opposed to plagioclase. It is the alkali feldspar that gives many types of granite a distinctive pinkish colour.
Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs. Granite sometimes are formed in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. It is usually found in the continental plates of the Earth's crust.
Granite is currently known only on Earth, where it forms a huge part of continental crust. Granite often occurs as moderately small, less than 100 km stock masses and in batholiths that are often associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Small ditches of granitic composition which are called €aplites€ are often associated with the margins of granitic intrusions. In some locations, very coarse-grained pegmatite masses are formed with granite.
Granite has been interjected into Earth's crust during all geologic periods, although much of it is of Precambrian age. Granitic rock is widely distributed throughout the continental crust and is the most plentiful basement rock that triggers the relatively thin sedimentary veneer of the continents.
Granite has been widely used as a dimension stone and as flooring tiles in public and commercial buildings and monuments. Aberdeen in Scotland, which is constructed mainly from local granite, is known as "The Granite City". Due to its richness, granite was often used to build foundations for homes in New England. The Granite Railway, America's first railroad, was built to pull granite from the quarries in Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River during the 1820s.
Because of the increasing amounts of acid rain in parts of the world, granite has begun to supplant marble as a monument material, since it is a lot more durable. Polished granite is also a popular choice for kitchen countertops due to its high durability and aesthetic look. In building and for countertops, the term "granite" is often applied to all igneous rocks with large crystals, and not specifically to those with a granitic composition.
In some areas granite is used for gravestones as well as memorials. Granite is a hard stone and requires skill to carve by hand. Modern ways of carving include using computer-controlled rotary bits and sandblasting over a rubber stencil. Leaving the letters, numbers and emblems exposed on the stone, the blaster can create virtually any kind of artwork or epitaph.
For great granite tiles, visit RMS Marble today.
Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs. Granite sometimes are formed in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. It is usually found in the continental plates of the Earth's crust.
Granite is currently known only on Earth, where it forms a huge part of continental crust. Granite often occurs as moderately small, less than 100 km stock masses and in batholiths that are often associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Small ditches of granitic composition which are called €aplites€ are often associated with the margins of granitic intrusions. In some locations, very coarse-grained pegmatite masses are formed with granite.
Granite has been interjected into Earth's crust during all geologic periods, although much of it is of Precambrian age. Granitic rock is widely distributed throughout the continental crust and is the most plentiful basement rock that triggers the relatively thin sedimentary veneer of the continents.
Granite has been widely used as a dimension stone and as flooring tiles in public and commercial buildings and monuments. Aberdeen in Scotland, which is constructed mainly from local granite, is known as "The Granite City". Due to its richness, granite was often used to build foundations for homes in New England. The Granite Railway, America's first railroad, was built to pull granite from the quarries in Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Neponset River during the 1820s.
Because of the increasing amounts of acid rain in parts of the world, granite has begun to supplant marble as a monument material, since it is a lot more durable. Polished granite is also a popular choice for kitchen countertops due to its high durability and aesthetic look. In building and for countertops, the term "granite" is often applied to all igneous rocks with large crystals, and not specifically to those with a granitic composition.
In some areas granite is used for gravestones as well as memorials. Granite is a hard stone and requires skill to carve by hand. Modern ways of carving include using computer-controlled rotary bits and sandblasting over a rubber stencil. Leaving the letters, numbers and emblems exposed on the stone, the blaster can create virtually any kind of artwork or epitaph.
For great granite tiles, visit RMS Marble today.
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