Basalt Vs Granite

Basalt is composed mostly of plagioclase.

Basalt vs granite.

Properties of rock is another aspect for granite vs basalt. The hardness of granite is 6 7 and that of basalt is 6. Basalt weathers faster than granite because it is not as hard and it s easier for outside substances to impact and manipulate its structure. Granite is composed of quartz feldspar and usually some ferromagnesian minerals such as biotite or hornblende depending on the definition of a granite.

Basalt is mafic while granite is felsic. Granite is available in black grey orange pink white colors whereas basalt is available in black brown light to dark grey colors. Basaltic crust is dark and thin and heavy while granite is light and accumulates into continent sized rafts which bob about like corks in this sea of basalt when a continent runs into a piece of seafloor it s much like a mac truck running into a volkswagon. Basalt and granite are two types of igneous rocks that we can find on earth.

Basalt is volcanic or extrusive forming at the surface while granite is plutonic or intrusive forming beneath the surface. Summary basalt vs granite. Appearance of granite is veined or pebbled and that of basalt is dull and soft. Granite is the principal component of the continental crust while basalt is the principal component of the oceanic crust.

Basalt is common on both earth and other solar system bodies such as the moon and mars while granite is only common on earth and rare elsewhere in the solar system. Granite is an intrusive rock that is formed when magma cools inside the crust. Basalt wikipedia wikimedia foundation 13 sept.