Heard a guy at the rock shop say all granite is the same

He was telling his kid that, and it made me want to correct him right there. The granite in my yard from the Adirondacks has way more feldspar than the stuff I collected in Arizona. How do you even start to explain the basics to someone like that?

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3 Comments

wren_rodriguez5mo ago

Ugh, that's so frustrating to hear! Granite can be super different depending on where it's from. Like you said, the mix of minerals changes everything. The stuff from the Adirondacks is often that classic pink from potassium feldspar, while Arizona granites can look totally different, with more quartz or even dark minerals. It's like saying all cookies are the same when you've got chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin right there.

5

price.tyler5mo ago

Nah, I get the cookie thing but granite is still just granite to me. It's all hard gray rock in the end.

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miller.jason3mo ago

Adirondack pink granite runs about 60% feldspar by volume in some samples I've cut. Meanwhile that Arizona stuff can be under 40% with way more quartz and biotite. Total different rock at that point. @wren_rodriguez nailed it with the cookie comparison. I'm basically a walking disaster when I hear bad geology talk in public. Missed my calling as a lunch lady explaining cookie diversity instead.

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