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# Basalt **Colour:** Grey/black **Texture:** Medium grained **Formation:** Basalt is an extrusive rock. It forms when lava spreads over the Earth's crust due to volcanic activity. The lava cools and hardens quickly, creating tiny crystals that are too small to be seen without a microscope. **Us...

# Basalt **Colour:** Grey/black **Texture:** Medium grained **Formation:** Basalt is an extrusive rock. It forms when lava spreads over the Earth's crust due to volcanic activity. The lava cools and hardens quickly, creating tiny crystals that are too small to be seen without a microscope. **Use:** Basalt is used for road chippings due to its hardness and is also a popular tourist destination due to the landscapes it creates. **Example:** Basalt is found in the Antrim-Derry Plateau in northern Ireland, which includes the Giant's Causeway. The lava flowed in thick layers, contracting as it cooled, which formed the hexagonal shapes seen today. # Granite **Colour:** Range of colours, including black, grey, pink, and cream **Texture:** Coarse grained **Formation:** Granite is an intrusive rock, formed when molten magma pushes its way into the Earth's crust then cools and hardens beneath the surface. The slow cooling allows large crystals to form, containing minerals like quartz, feldspar, and mica.