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State Symbols
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Official state symbols represent the cultural heritage
and natural treasures of each state or the entire United States |
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New Hampshire Symbols
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New Hampshire State Rock
Granite
Adoped on May 31, 1985
It gave New Hampshire its Nickname of "The Granite State." New Hampshire once had a large industry surrounding the quarrying of granite. Granite was
adopted as the state rock on May 31, 1985.
The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the grained structure of such a crystalline rock
Granite is an igneous stone, one that is produced by intense heat. Granite is formed from liquid magma deep beneath the earth. Extreme pressures and a slow cooling process bake granite into one of the hardest and densest stones on the planet. New Hampshire is a rock climber's paradise. From Mount Washington to the Franconia Notch there is much granite to conquer.
Granite occurs as stock-like masses and as batholiths often associated with mountain ranges and frequently of great extent. Granite has been intruded into the crust of the Earth during all geologic periods, except perhaps the most recent; much of it is of Precambrian age. Granite is widely distributed throughout the Earth.
The chief minerals of which granites are formed are feldspars and quartz and smaller amounts of mica and hornblende. They are classified as fine-grained, medium-grained, or coarse-grained. Medium-grained granites are those in which the feldspar crystals average about ¼ inch (6mm) in diameter. If relatively coarse-grained crystals appear in a fine grained groundmass the rock is designated as porphyritic granite. A rock may have the mineral constituents of granite but may show a banded or
platy structure owing to recrystallization, folding, or other changes while the rock was in a plastic or semi-molten condition. Such metamorphic rocks are called granite gneisses.
Because of its hardness and comparative cheapness in relation to marble, granite is often used to make kitchen countertops. A granite countertop can be cut in any shape, and it is virtually unscratchable. Very hot pots must not be placed onto it though, because the temperature differential could possibly crack the granite
New Hampshire Legislature Archives
3:13 State Rock.
Granite is hereby designated as the official state rock of New Hampshire.
Source. 1985, 11:1, eff. May 31, 1985
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State Symbols
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State symbols represent things that are special to a
particular state.
symbol \ˈsim-bəl\
noun
Etymology:
in sense 1, from Late Latin symbolum, from Late Greek symbolon, from Greek, token, sign; in
other senses from Latin symbolum token, sign, symbol, from Greek symbolon, literally, token
of identity verified by comparing its other half, from symballein to throw together,
compare, from syn- + ballein to throw — more at devil
Date: 15th century
1: Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or
convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.
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