Rocksday

Granodiorite

A gray, granite-like rock with more white plagioclase than granite — the most common rock of continental crust.

Granodiorite specimen
Photo: Rudolf Pohl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify granodiorite

  • Salt-and-pepper gray with some glassy quartz.
  • Mostly white plagioclase, little pink feldspar.
  • Coarse, even grains.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Half Dome, Yosemite
  • Coast Mountains, British Columbia
  • Scotland

Uses

Building stone and monuments.

Rock tumbling

Great for tumbling.

Did you know?

The Rosetta Stone is carved from granodiorite.

Think you could spot it from a blurry close-up?

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