Last weekend I traveled with my Conservation Biology class to Panola Mountain in Metro Atlanta. It is a nature conservancy with a large intrinsic granite outcrop. We traveled to see a pristine outcrop community including solution ponds and different stages of succession. This large outcropping had the soil weathered around it and was therefore exposed. Because it cooled below the earth's surface, it cooled slowly and was a medium-grey color. Panola Mountain is one of the only granite outcrops that has been preserved with very little human traffic (one must pay for a guided tour) and no commercial quarrying. It is a pristine environment.
These granite outcrops are abundant in the southeastern United States. According to wikipedia, Panola mountain can be classified as Monadnock, or a granite-gneiss rock island. The outcrops in the US were created when the North American and North African continents collided. Specifically, Panola is comprised of quartz, feldspar, and muscovite.
