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
California Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co. largest in California, and the largest west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1980, Granite Rock submitted to the Forest Service a five-year plan to remove substantial amounts of limestone from a quarry on the south face of Pico Blanco within the National Forest boundary. The Forest Service prepared an Environmental Assessment of the plan and recommended some modifications, which Granite Rock implemented. When Graniterock obtained the permit in 1983, it began to excavate a open pit mine. The California Coastal Commission required Granite Rock to apply for a coastal development permit for any mining undertaken after the date of notification.