Granite is a very hard rock formed deep underground from molten magma that cooled slowly over millions of years. If you've seen a polished stone countertop in a kitchen with tiny speckles of different colors, that's probably granite. Those speckles are actually different minerals, like quartz, feldspar, and mica, all fused together into an incredibly durable stone.

Granite appears in mountain ranges worldwide and has been prized throughout history for building monuments and structures meant to last. Ancient Egyptians used granite for their pyramids and obelisks. Mount Rushmore, the giant carved faces of four presidents in South Dakota, is carved into a granite cliff because the sculptors knew the rock would resist weathering for a very long time.

The word granite comes from the Latin word for grain, referring to the grainy texture you can see and feel in the stone. When you say something is as solid as granite or set in granite, you mean it's permanent and unchangeable, like those ancient monuments still standing after millennia.