Granite is a hard, impermeable crystalline rock and is resistant to erosion. In Nova Scotia it tends to form knolls and upland areas characterized by a hummocky, boulder-strewn surface with thin, acid soils and large areas of exposed bedrock. Water can penetrate the body of granite only along the joints or fractures, which may be several metres apart. Most precipitation is therefore held on the irregular surface in numerous interconnected bogs, shallow lakes and streams.

Granite is found throughout mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton in plutons of various sizes and represents about 20-25% of the bedrock across the province. The largest pluton is the South Mountain Batholith, which is the dominant feature in the landscape of southwestern Nova Scotia. It extends in an arc from Yarmouth to Halifax and outcrops over an area of 10,000 km².

This Document Includes:

Age and Genesis
Mode of Emplacement
Ascent of the Molten Rock
Cooling of the Magma
Foliation
Heating of the Surrounding Sediments
Mineral Deposits

Download PDF File (59k, 3 pages, 2 figures)

Additional Keywords:
granitic, granitoid, granodiorite, monzogranite, xenoliths, stoping, Cambrian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault, thermal metamorphism.

Associated Topics:

T2.2 The Avalon and Meguma Zones
T12.3 Geology and Resources