Greetings from oikos !

GRANITE is a rock type found in many states of India.

Found in abundance in South Indian states like Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra,

along with Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir.

The word "granite" is derived from Latin granum, i.e. grain,

in reference to coarse grained nature.

Granite is Igneous, Intrusive, Plutonic, Acidic Hard Rock !

Igneous (meaning fire) rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma.

Granite is intrusive Rock i.e. rock which forms below the earth surface.

They form when magma enters an underground chamber, cools very slowly and

forms rock full of large crystals. Also called as plutonic rock, being solidified at a great depth. 

Rock is acidic because of high percentage of silica. It is light colored, mainly pink or grey.

Granite or Granitic rock types are commonly seen in some part of South India.

Granite rocks may act as important refugial habitats, largely due to their ability to ‘harvest’ small quantities of water,
forming water-accumulating micro sites and thus providing a relatively stable ecosystem in areas that may
otherwise have unpredictable or low rainfall (York Main, 1997).

Also big lakes are seen in these areas due to impervious character of rock and soil formed from it.

A very special geological feature named Granite Outcrop or Bornhardt are seen nearby Bangalore.

It is a granitic inselberg i.e. isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
Such Granite outcrops act as ‘islands’ for speciation and habitat to many endemic species.

Uses: Popularly used in construction.

Regards,

Ketaki & Manasi

p.s. Information of Basalt in last month’s (January 17) email had gross mistakes, which are corrected now.
Please read updated text on our website.

Thanking you for your precious time.