Igneous rock
Building with Scottish Stone, published by the Natural Stone Institute and the Scottish Executive in 2005, defines igneous rocks as: ‘Fine to coarse-grained crystalline rocks originating from the molten state. Basic or intermediate igneous rocks such as basalt, dolerite or gabbro are generally dark or grey in colour and contain little or no quartz. Pale or strongly coloured varieties such as felsite and porphyry are generally associated with volcanic areas. The colloquial term 'whinstone' is commonly used to describe igneous rocks other than granite, although this name is commonly applied to any dark hard rock, such as the sedimentary greywacke sandstone of southern Scotland.’
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