01 / Origin story
How does diorite form?
02 / Read the clues
How can you identify diorite?
Use several clues together.
One photograph shows one specimen, not every variation.
- 01Coarse-grained, crystals clearly visible
- 02Distinctive "salt and pepper" look — speckled black and white, generally darker overall than granite
- 03Made mostly of plagioclase feldspar (white/gray) and dark minerals like hornblende or biotite (black), with little to no quartz
03 / Commonly confused with
Similar at first glance.
Compare the materials side by side.
Photographs are not shown to the same scale.
04 / Out in the world
Where it’s found.
Continue exploring
