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What is it and where is it formed? Granite is a
rock that is
hard and strong. It can be an
igneous or a
metamorphic
rock. It usually has
quartz, feldspar,
mica, or
hornblende in it. Granite is formed deep down inside the
Earth from magma that has cooled. Granite is usually
pink or white. |
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How and where is it mined?
Granite is mined using
quarrying. It is quarried in Italy, India, the U.S.
and other countries around the world. Scientists can
tell where granite comes from by how it looks. If it
is coarse grained and red or black, it will probably be from
Egypt or a desert in the United States. |
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What is it used for?
Granite is used to make gravestones and buildings because it
is hard and strong and doesn’t break down from being out in
the weather. It is also used
for kitchen countertops, floor tile, curbs on driveways, and in
road building. |
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Interesting!
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The Vietnam Veterans War Memorial and Mt. Rushmore
[on the right]are made
of granite. |
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Some of the properties of granite are that it doesn’t
scratch easily because it’s so hard, acids don’t bother it, and it doesn’t stain
easily. Heat and bacteria won’t bother it. |
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Sometimes gemstones are
found in granite. An example of this is
amethyst. |
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There is a kind of granite that is called Graphic Granite.
The stone has shapes in it that look
like letters of the alphabet. |
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Links:
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Printer
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Citations:
Fuller, Sue.
Rocks & Minerals. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
“Granite.”
12 Feb. 2006.
<http://sln.fi.edu/fellows/payton/rocks/expert/granite.htm>.
"Granite."
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Columbia
University Press., 2003. Answers.com 15
Feb. 2006.
<http://www.answers.com/topic/granite>.
"Granite."
Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com 15 Feb. 2006.
<http://www.answers.com/topic/granite>.
Smith, Robin.
rushmore.jpg. June 2003. Pics4Learning. 15 Feb 2006. <http://pics.tech4learning.com>.
Zim, Herbert
S. Rocks and minerals: a guide to familiar minerals, gems, ores
and rocks.
New York: Golden Press, 1957.
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