igneous
Pink Granite / Potassium Feldspar with Quartz
Granite (composed mainly of Orthoclase KAlSi3O8 and Quartz SiO2)
Hardness 6 to 7 on Mohs scale. Colors range from salmon pink and reddish orange to clear white quartz and dark biotite specs. Vitreous to pearly luster with blocky cleavage surfaces in feldspar and irregular fracture in quartz. Coarse-grained phaneritic texture.
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Physical properties
Hardness 6 to 7 on Mohs scale. Colors range from salmon pink and reddish orange to clear white quartz and dark biotite specs. Vitreous to pearly luster with blocky cleavage surfaces in feldspar and irregular fracture in quartz. Coarse-grained phaneritic texture.
Formation & geological history
Formed deep within the Earth's crust through the slow crystallization of silica-rich felsic magma under high pressure and temperature over millions of years. Commonly associated with continental crust and intrusive plutonic formations.
Uses & applications
Extensively used as building material, kitchen countertops, architectural facades, monuments, gravel aggregate, and decorative landscaping rock. Hand specimens are widely collected in educational kits.
Geological facts
The distinct salmon-pink color of this granite comes from an abundance of alkali feldspar (orthoclase), colored pink by trace amounts of hematite or iron within its crystal lattice. Quartz crystals fill the remaining spaces as clear to grayish translucent grains.
Field identification & locations
Identified in the field by its coarse crystalline texture, pink blocky cleavage planes of orthoclase feldspar, glassy gray quartz, and scattered dark mineral grains like biotite or hornblende. Extremely common worldwide in continental shields and mountain belts.
