EARTH SCIENCE

GRANITE
Group 4

1 CATEGORY AND
DESCRIPTION OF ROCK

Granite is a coarse-grained, light-colored igneous

rock composed mainly of feldspars and quartz
with minor. Color variation is a response to the
percent of each mineral found in the sample. It is
the most common igneous rock found at Earth's
surface

2 HOW GRANITE IS FORMED

Granite is formed within the crust of the Earth when Felsic magma, that is
magma that is rich in Silica, cools down without reaching the surface.
Because it remains beneath the surface as it is cooling it forms large crystals
Granites tend to form in Subduction zones, where water-rich crust gets
assimilated into the Asthenosphere and undergoes partial melting.

3 WHERE GRANITE CAN BE LOCATED

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." In
areas where Earth's surface is covered with sedimentary
rocks, granites, metamorphosed granites, or closely related
rocks are usually present beneath the sedimentary cover.
These deep granites are known as "basement rocks."

4 ECONOMIC USE OF GRANITE

Granite is used extensively as dimension stone. It is used in the
construction of buildings, both as building blocks and as veneers on
frame structures. Because it can be smoothed to a very high polish,
granite has found extensive use in memorials, headstones,
monuments, carved decorations on buildings, statues and the like.

Granite. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://geology.com/rocks/granite.shtml.

Granite. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals-database/granite/.