Granite general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks. Petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite. Granite is nearly always massive (i.e., lacking any internal structures), hard, and tough. These properties have made granite a widespread construction stone throughout human history. The average density of granite is between , its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6·10 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is ; it is strongly reduced in the presence of water, down to
Granite, Virginia Granite, Virginia Granite was an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was originally located along the Richmond and Danville Railroad five miles west of Manchester and about a mile south of the rapids of the James River along Powhite Creek. According to documents on file at the Library of Virginia, in April 1872, notice was published in Petersburg that Mathew Hall had been appointed postmaster of a new U.S. Post Office at Granite. Granite was named for the granite rock formations which underlie the rapids of the river at the geological fall line which begin downstream from the current