Strictly speaking granite is an.
Is granite the hardest rock.
These two stones have a mohs hardness rating of 6 or 7.
More than that granite is the signature rock of the planet earth itself.
The other rocky planets mercury venus and mars are covered with basalt as is the ocean floor of earth but only earth has this beautiful and interesting rock type in abundance.
That is an old classification and i am not sure the classification still exists.
Marble is a degree or two less and though it is still a very hard stone it s rating on the mohs scale is about a 5.
Granite is the rock most often quarried as a dimension stone a natural rock material that has been cut into blocks or slabs of specific length width and thickness.
Granite is hard enough to resist abrasion strong enough to bear significant weight inert enough to resist weathering and it accepts a brilliant polish.
The igneous rock is comprised of mostly quartz and feldspar along with smaller amounts of various other minerals.
Granites can be predominantly white pink or gray in color depending on their mineralogy the word granite comes from the latin granum a grain in reference to the coarse grained structure of such a completely crystalline rock.
So we strive for the hardest most attainable and attractive option in stones which happens to be granite and quartz.
An example of the hardness of a granite countertop can be seen in the fact that a knife blade will not scratch the surface.
Granite is the signature rock of the continents.