Granite Rocks

This piece of granite contains crystals of quartz, feldspar, and mica. Click on the image to look closer at the mineral crystals! Click on image for full size (131K JPG) Small image courtesy of Corel/Large image is a Windows Original by R.Johnson

Granite is a common type of igneous rock. Look at it closely and you can see small white, pink, and black crystals. Some granite has tons of pink crystals and some has more white ones. Click on the picture to take a closer look at granite and find out which minerals those are!

Granite is made deep within the Earth, but you can find it on the surface and even on the tops of some tall mountains. Rocks that were once deep inside the Earth’s crust are moved to the surface by plate tectonics!

Because granite is very hard, it often used to make buildings, kitchen counters, tombstones, and sculptures.