The diversity and origin of granites

Granites are an important compositional endmember and critical building block of the continental crust. Yet, their origin remains controversial primarily due to the diversity of granite types demanding different formation processes and sources. This chapter reviews the geochemical features of four broad categories of granites (strongly peraluminous granites, arc-related granites, post-collisional metaluminous, magnesian potassic granites, and ferroan granites) and their inferred modes of origin and distribution through time. Stable isotopes including traditional (O and S) and non-traditional (Si, Fe, and Ti) are highlighted as tools to understand differentiation of basalts and crustal assimilation during granite formation.