Where Does Granite Come From For Your Countertops?

You can see granite countertops everywhere. But have you ever thought, &#;where does granite come from?&#; 

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Nature is full of wonders, and granite is one of the most amazing things that nature offers us.  In this post, you will learn where granite comes from and how it comes to your home. Also, the formation and various uses of granite might surprise you. Read on!

How is Granite Formed?

Granite is composed of organic minerals such as quartz, feldspar&#;etc. Of course, they were not solid stones touching each other many years ago but were lava under the Earth&#;s surface. So the minerals have crystallized slowly and become hard &#;but very hard- stones in various colors. 

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Color is another astounding detail about granite. The minerals give the granite stones mesmerizing colors. While red, pink, grey, and white are more usual, there are some rare colors like blue, green, gold, or black. 

Does Granite Come In White?

Not necessarily. Although there are many tones of white granite, granite comes in various natural colors including, black, brown, white, blue&#;etc. Actually, finding pure white granite is almost impossible, but there are white granites with black, gray, or brown shades on a white surface. You can find white ice granite, moon white granite, or white ice granite of this kind.

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Where Does Granite Come From?

As explained above, granite was melted rock or magma once upon a time. Today, people can mine granite in different parts of the world after millions of years, along with upheavals like tectonic movements and earthquakes. 

Brazil, China, Italy, and India are some of the countries where granite quarries are located.  Therefore, the granite countertop you buy for your home must be coming from one of these countries. Since each country has different geographical features, the color and some other characteristics of granites vary across the quarries in those countries. 

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For example, blue-colored granites that are mined in Brazil are the most expensive ones. There are also white and black granites in nature. While the white ones are more expensive, black granites are relatively affordable. In fact, their availability in the quarries and demand at certain times of the year can factor in the prices of different granites.

Where Does Granite Come From In The United States?

The granite doesn&#;t always come from other countries. In the U.S, there are big quarries in some states like Texas, Massachusetts, Indiana, Georgia, and Wisconsin. If you ask, &#;where does black granite come from?&#; then the answer will be mostly other countries like India, Angola, or Scandinavia.

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How Does Granite Come To Your Home?

Now that we have answered the question &#;where do granite countertops come from&#; we can talk about the journey of the granite slabs until they come to your house. 

Mining the granite is just the beginning. They have a long journey before being one of the most beautiful pieces of art in your house. 

First, a large block of granite is cut out of the quarry, and it is controlled to make sure there are no major fissures, cracks, or similar imperfections. If the stone is thoroughly solid and flawless, it is cut into slabs on gang saws. The period of cutting is generally slow since granite is a very hard material. 

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Once the bulk of stone is completely slabbed, the slabs are coated with resin fills and then put into big industrial ovens. Hence, the minor fissures or imperfections on the surface can be filled properly. Then, the slabs are polished.

After polishing, the slabs are shipped to distributors in different places. Most granite stores buy their stones from one of those distributors. They usually prefer the one closer to their location so that they pay less for shipping. 

The distributors or stores check the quality and perfection of the slabs and do some polishing to make them look shinier. They cut samples and/or take photos of the slabs in different colors and patterns to show to the customers. 

When you go to the store, they show you the granite countertop colors and patterns that you can use in your kitchen or bathroom. The team goes to your place, and they measure the room and the area where you need the granite. 

According to your needs and expectations, they work on the project to get your confirmation. Then, using the CNC router, they cut down the big slabs into smaller sizes, and desired finishing is applied according to the project. Now your granite is ready to install.

What Is Granite Used For?

Granite is a natural construction, decoration, and architectural material. Though granite is widely used as kitchen countertops and bathroom vanity tops, there are some other uses of it. For example, some monuments are made of granite. Also, you can see granite at luxurious places as paving stones or building veneers.

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Bottom Line

Granite is one of the most stunning gifts of nature. It takes a long way for a granite countertop to reach your home. The journey is long, but it is absolutely worth it.

Aster Broeksmann

Author

This is a list of notable quarries and areas of quarrying in the United States. A number of these are historic quarries listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), ranging from relatively ancient archeological sites to places having pre-World War II activity. This includes major areas of continuing, modern quarrying.

According to Marble.com, in there were 276 quarries producing natural stone in 34 states, and states producing the most granite were Texas, Massachusetts, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Georgia.[1] The term "quarry" refers also to sites producing aggregate, molding sand, or other resources besides cut stone.

There were numerous more quarries in the U.S. during the s and s than are operational now. In Oregon, a state with much less activity than Vermont and other bigger quarrying states, there were more than 250 quarries operational at one time or another. In the state mineralogist of California reported on 52 granite quarrying areas in 17 counties.[2]

Many quarries were opened temporarily to provide stone for one or a few local or regional construction projects, but could not compete later when railroads allowed for economical transportation of heavy building materials to the area. Quarrying spurred the construction of railways and vice versa, from the construction of the Granite Railway in Massachusetts to the modern day.

Quarries in the U.S.

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Quarries in the United States, former and current, include:

Arizona

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Cochise Marble Company, Bowie, Arizona, on-site quarrying, blocks, aggregates, calcium carbonate 99.5%, established in the Chiricahua Mountains; colors: white, grey, black, blue

Arkansas

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California

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Colorado

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Connecticut

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Florida

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• Cemex Miami SCL Aggregates Quarry, Miami, Florida, source of limestone
• Spanish Coquina Quarries, St. Augustine Beach, Florida, NRHP-listed, source of coquina

Georgia

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Hawaii

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Idaho

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• Harvey Mountain Quarry, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, NRHP-listed

Illinois

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• Thornton Quarry, just south of Chicago, Illinois. One of the largest aggregate quarries in the world, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, 0.5 miles wide, and up to 450 feet deep, site of a Silurian reef. Quarried since . The quarry also acts as an emergency flood control reservoir as part of Chicago Deep Tunnel project.

Indiana

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• Marengo warehouse, in Marengo, Indiana, formerly a limestone quarry, now one of the largest subterranean storage facilities in the nation, with nearly 4,000,000 square feet (370,000 m2) space. It began as an open pit quarry in due in part to its proximity to a railroad. Underground room and pillar mining began in . Leased storage began in . Used by the U.S. Department of Defense for storage of 10,000,000 MRE meals, by Bridgestone for storage of 400,000 tires, and by Controlled Pharming Ventures for growing tomatoes and corn.

Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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• Mega Cavern, a cavern in Louisville, Kentucky created by limestone quarrying over 42 years during the middle of the 20th century. Deemed the largest building in the state, it has 4,000,000 square feet (370,000 m2) and is now used for tourism including zip lines, for storage and other business.

Maine

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The company is the world’s best Granite Supply supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

Maryland

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Massachusetts

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Michigan

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Minnesota

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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New Jersey

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New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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• Lynch Quarry Site, North Dakota, NRHP-listed and a U.S. National Historic Landmark, a flint quarry that was "a major source of flint found at archaeological sites across North America, and it has been estimated that the material was mined there from 11,000 B.C. to A.D. ."

Ohio

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Pennsylvania

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Rhode Island

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• Ochee Spring Quarry, Johnston, Rhode Island, NRHP-listed, "a source of steatite (soapstone), a relatively soft stone easily workable into containers. Native Americans are known to have used this quarry.[2] A study of the site conducted in the mid-s concluded that the quarry was probably worked in an organized manner, to produce containers in a variety of size. Items made from this quarry have been found across southern New England."

South Carolina

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South Dakota

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• Flint Hill Aboriginal Quartzite Quarry, Edgemont, South Dakota, NRHP-listed

Tennessee

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Texas

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Utah

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Vermont

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Virginia

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Washington

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Wisconsin

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Rock quarry in West Salem
Romskog Quarry
A triple homicide in took place at this quarry[5]

American Samoa

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• Lau'agae Ridge Quarry, Tula, AS, NRHP-listed, "a prehistoric stone quarry on the eastern side of the island of Tutuila in the United States territory of American Samoa"
• Tataga-Matau Fortified Quarry Complex (AS-34-10), near the village of Leone on Tutuila in American Samoa, NRHP-listed, "a complex consisting of a series of basalt quarries and structures that archaeologists have interpreted as having a military defensive purpose. The site has been known since at least , and was first formally surveyed in the s. Features of the site include extraction pits, from which basalt was quarried for the manufacture of stone tools and weapons, as well as domestic features such as grinding stones. Archaeologists in noted that some of the sites features were, including trenches and terracing, were made in areas that were unsuitable for the production of stone tools, and closely resemble known military defensive structures in other areas of the Samoan islands.

Marianas

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• Rota Latte Stone Quarry, MP, NRHP-listed, also known as the As Nieves quarry, located near the Chamorro village of Sinapalo on the island of Rota in the Marianas Islands. The prehistoric megaliths found there are believed to have been used as foundation pillars for houses." Is this same or different than the source of stone pillars for House of Taga on Tinian island?

See also

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References

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