Granite Granite Granite () is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be predominantly white, pink, or gray in color, depending on their mineralogy. The word "granite" comes from the Latin "granum", a grain, in reference to the coarse-grained structure of such a holocrystalline rock. Strictly speaking, granite is an igneous rock with between 20% and 60% quartz by volume, and at least 35% of the total feldspar consisting of alkali feldspar, although commonly the term "granite" is used to refer to a wider range of coarse-grained igneous rocks containing quartz
A-type granite A-type granite A-type granites are a class of granite. They are characterised by low water and a lack of tectonic fabric. A stands for anorogenic or anhydrous. The granite class was proposed by Loiselle and Wones in 1979. It was in addition to I-, S- and M-type granites. The A-type granites form in an extensional tectonic setting. This could either be far from any orogeny, or after orogeny is completed. Chemical characteristics of A-type granites include high silica, alkalis, zirconium, niobium, gallium, yttrium and cerium. The ratio of gallium to aluminium is high, as is the ratio of iron to