What is the difference between marble and granite?
Marble and granite both are natural stones and both can use in commercial and residential applications. Both are quarried from earth. Granite is formed deep in earth at very high temperature. Granite is the hardest and stain resistant. Marble is a sedimentary rock. After millions of year it coagulates into stones. Its main component is calcium; it can be affected by acids.
The rock forming the Earth’s crust falls into three generic groups: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Granite is usually classed as igneous rock derived from molten masses or magmas. Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the re-crystallization of limestone. Limestone and travertine are defined as sedimentary. Because the world of rocks and geology are such a vast and complicated field, the above descriptions are very general. Please keep in mind that the following descriptions are very general and there are exceptions. Granite is a harder material, resistant to heat, chemicals, stains, and scratching. It is available in thousands of colors. General appearances range from fine to coarse graining, little to huge amounts of veining. Of all stones, granite is the most practical. Marble is softer material with limited applications, unless the consumer is willing to accept the changes associated with use. Marble’s biggest asset is its appearance or look. Because of its mineral com
Marble and granite are produced in nature in very different ways resulting in very different looks and functionality. Not only are they comprised of different minerals, but also the way in which the earth acts on them is different. Granite is actually comprised of minerals that liquefy deep within the earth creating magma. This magma slowly rises to the earth’s crust over millions of years, and cools along the way creating the very hard material we know as granite. Marble is comprised mainly of calcite. Whereas granite is molten magma, marble never reaches that state. Instead the very high heat and pressure deep within the earth compress the minerals into marble. Unevenness in pressures creates the beautiful movement so often associated with marble.
