Desert Rock Formations Geology seems to be a secondary interest of most astronomers I know. This may be due to the fact that geology is really a subset of planetary astronomy- no planets, no geology…or maybe something to do during the daylight hours when you’re out in the desert/mountains waiting for nightfall…or- the fact that we are just Geeks and interested in everything that poses some scientific interest. In any case, I am also of the camp of Astronomer/Naturalists, that spend my days in the desert/mountains examining the local geology. These photographs are just a sample of those I took while down at the Chùa Thiên Ân / Desert Zen Center. These are Granite formations that have been shaped by seismic displacement and eroded by the winds and rains of time. These large granitic intrusions from the Cretaceous age, are the bedrock of the Mojave plateau. They can be recognized as granite because of the characteristic spheroidal weathering and which is typical of the erosion patterns of fractured granite. Granite tends to crack in columns or block sections and then erodes away in layers like an onion. This tends to give granite outcroppings their distinctive rounded knob shape. Miles ...
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:34:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015