Granite is a common typeof 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 igneousrock with between 20% and 60% quartz by volume, and at least 35% of the totalfeldspar consisting of alkali feldspar, although commonly the term "granite" isused to refer to a wider range of coarse grained igneous rocks containingquartz and feldspar.

Granite is nearly always massive (lacking any internalstructures), hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread usethroughout human history as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and2.75 g/cm³ (165.4 - 171.7 lb/ft³), its compressivestrength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 • 10¹⁹ Pa·s.

Granite and related marble industries are considered oneof the oldest industries in the world; existing as far back as Ancient Egypt.

Major modern exporters of granite include China, India,Italy, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Spain and the United States.

Modern Uses: sculpture and memorials, buildings,engineering, other uses etc.