Is Granite Metamorphic Or Igneous

It forms by the solidification of bodies of magma relatively deep below the surface.

Is granite metamorphic or igneous.

Granite ˈ ɡ r æ n ɪ t is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Partial melt granitic type rocks are granitic gneiss which is a metamorphic rock. Granite if it undergoes metamorphism is changed to a number of things charnokite is one metagranite it another it ca. Image via georgia state university.

Even the granites that form via metamorphism of sediments are igneous because they pass through a melting stage. Debate has long centered on whether granite is igneous or metamorphic in origin. Originally granite was thought to form mainly from magmatic differentiation of basaltic magma but geologists now believe there is simply too much of it for it to have formed this way except locally. Granite is an igneous rock while gneiss is a rock that may have been igneous or sedimentary earlier but has undergone metamorphic process.

Now compare it to the granite. This evidence suggests that some granite is not igneous in origin but metamorphic. It forms from the slow crystallization of magma below earth s surface. 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 completely crystalline rock.

When granite is subjected to intense heat and pressure it changes into a metamorphic rock called gneiss. Igneous metamorphic and sedimentary the three main types of geological rocks are described. It is usually composed primarily of the minerals quartz feldspar and mica. Some granite is the oldest known rock on earth.

It is an intrusive igneous rock. Granite is composed mainly of quartz and feldspar with minor amounts of mica amphiboles and other minerals this mineral composition usually gives granite a red pink gray or white color with dark mineral. However some granite has no contact with surrounding wall rock so it must have gradually degraded into metamorphic rock. Igneous rocks sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks are the major three rock types in the earth s crust geologist made this classification based on the geological process that formed these rocks.

There are similarities between the two types of rocks confusing many people. The key difference between igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks is that igneous rocks are the oldest rocks on earth while metamorphic rocks are derivatives of igneous rocks and sedimentary rocks. Granite type rocks granitoids are abo. Granite is a light colored igneous rock with grains large enough to be visible with the unaided eye.