The Geology of Curling Stones

Curling Stones
Image by Peter Miller via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

I don’t know about you, but my family has been very interested in the unique sport of Olympic Curling at this year’s 2022 Winter Olympics. Did you know that 70 percent of the world’s curling stones come from the tiny island of Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde, an inlet along the west coast of Scotland? This island is home to two types of granite that are used in for curling stones, although the last granite quarried on the island was removed back in 2013. Interested in the mineralogy and other details? Check out the details from David Bressan’s blog at Forbes.com (4 articles free, then behind a pay wall).