Tuff Schist

earth-phenomenon: Lena Stone Pillars Russia One of the most...

Tue, 21 May 2013 06:00:54 -0500

Lena Stone Pillars Russia

One of the most beautiful natural wonders of Russia, Lena’s Stone Forest is also one of the most difficult to reach,It lies in a part of Siberia not yet touched by civilization.

Known also as Lena’s Stone Pillars, this incredible rock formation is not only beautiful to look at, it’s also holds important information on the formation of the organic world. Fossils from various organisms dating back to the Cambrian era could supply invaluable insight on life evolved on planet Earth.The amazing stone structures towers over 150 meters in height and extends along the river Lena for about 80km.

Dial M...for MICROBE! | JOIDES Resolution Blogs

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:58:56 -0500

Dial M...for MICROBE! | JOIDES Resolution Blogs:

all-geo:

Jordon’s log. May 19th, 2013. We’re smack dab in the middle of day two. Tensions are high…cookie break was almost forgotten. Yes, having a cookie break everyday at 9 and 3 isn’t the only thing scheduled on our mission on the JOIDES Resolution. From 7:30 AM on it’s a non-stop borage of learning. So fast and furious that Vin Diesel himself would wet his pantaloons.

"The activists kept up the blockade. They had their own proposal, a Marine Disposal Alternative. The..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:01:08 -0500

“

The activists kept up the blockade. They had their own proposal, a Marine Disposal Alternative. The MDA was no less ambitious than the bypass. The project would stabilize the Slide by widening the mountain’s base with a manmade earthen foundation sloping from the cliff to the water.

Geologists found this idea absurd. It would be a temporary solution, at best, lasting only until the newly formed lower slope succumbed to the inevitably violent erosion. Still, Caltrans had to at least make it seem like they were considering this alternative. So in the early 1990s, the department sent an exploration team to survey the area. A group of three or four scientists maneuvered a whaling boat through the waters below the Slide, deploying a bottom-sounding device to locate its base. Like most days, the surf was ferocious. It flooded the deck. Caltrans officials overseeing the project from the shore watched in horror as the boat capsized. The scientists managed to swim to land. And that was the end of the Marine Disposal Alternative.

”

- Albert Samaha, from his article on the history of transport around Devil’s Slide, an obstacle on the Pacific coastal path south of San Francisco. (via blech)

odditiesoflife: Glass Beach, Northern California From 1950 to...

Sun, 19 May 2013 06:00:47 -0500

odditiesoflife:

Glass Beach, Northern California

From 1950 to 1967, residents of Fort Bragg, California chose to dispose of their waste by hurling it off the cliffs above a beach. No object was too toxic or too large such as household appliances, automobiles, and all matter of trash were tossed into the crashing waves below, eventually earning it the name The Dumps. Then in 1967, city leaders closed and reclaimed the beach. Various cleanup programs were undertaken.

Over the next several decades, the pounding waves cleaned the beach by breaking down everything but glass turning the sand into a sparkling, multicolored bed of smooth glass stones. The California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the land and incorporated it into MacKerricher State Park in 2002.

beautiful-avalanche: Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai [Tanzania] by...

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:00:53 -0500

beautiful-avalanche:

Mount Ol Doinyo Lengai [Tanzania] by Olivier Grunewald

ʻĪao Needle, April 2013 The ʻĪao Needle rises 1,200 ft (370 m)...

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:01:08 -0500

ʻĪao Needle, April 2013

The ʻĪao Needle rises 1,200 ft (370 m) from the floor of the ‘Iao Valley, Maui. The valley formed as water eroded the caldera of the old West Maui volcano. An erosional remnant, the ‘Iao Neele is at the end of a ridge comprised of a denser dike stone. The softer rock around the dike stone was eroded by streams and waterfalls.

`Iao is so sacred that the remains of the highest chiefs were entrusted to secret hiding places in the valley. Kaka`e, ruler of Maui in the late 1400’s to 1500’s, is believed to have designated this valley as an ali`i burial area.

Reference (including a picture in sunshine!)

little-frank: I Dreamt about a Terrific Cliff… on Flickr. Isle...

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:59:35 -0500

little-frank:

I Dreamt about a Terrific Cliff… on Flickr.

Isle of Staffa, Inner Hebrides (Scotland).

The Isle of Staffa (from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is a small and uninhabited of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
Entirely of volcanic origin, the isle consists of a basement of tuff, underneath colonnades of a black fine-grained Tertiary basalt, overlying which is a third layer of basaltic lava lacking a crystalline structure. By contrast, slow cooling of the second layer of basalt resulted in an extraordinary pattern of predominantly hexagonal columns which form the faces and walls of the principal caves.The lava contracted towards each of a series of equally spaced centres as it cooled and solidified into prismatic columns. Similar formations are found at the Giant’s Causeway In Ireland.

Staffa video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwWxpoNvC08&list=UU4gGewStvg0…

Staffa pictures:
www.flickriver.com/photos/little_frank/tags/Staffa/

How Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Works

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:00:52 -0500

How Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Works :

visualoop:

Via

lacerto: Mount Rainier by Mantis of Destiny. I did at least...

Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:47 -0500

lacerto:

Mount Rainier by Mantis of Destiny.

I did at least three class projects on how bad an idea it is to live downhill/downstream from this lovely volcano.

atomstargazer: Tata Sabaya Volcano Tata Sabaya, a volcano...

Tue, 14 May 2013 06:00:54 -0500

atomstargazer:

Tata Sabaya Volcano

Tata Sabaya, a volcano located in the Altiplano region of Bolivia, rises to a summit elevation of 5,430 meters (17,800 feet) above sea level. While its current form is that of a youthful stratovolcano, the regional geological evidence indicates an older, eventful history.

Prior to 12,000 years ago, a large debris avalanche was formed by the collapse of the ancestral Tata Sabaya volcano. Debris from the avalanche swept into the nearby Salar de Coipasa, significantly changing its northwestern coastline. The timing of the event was obtained from tufa deposits formed on debris islands during a high stand of the Coipasa lake. The sequence illustrates the geological principle of crosscutting, in that the debris avalanche had to have occurred before the tufa deposits were formed in the lake.

distant-traveller: Saturn’s rings seen sideways Saturn’s...

Mon, 13 May 2013 06:01:12 -0500

distant-traveller:

Saturn’s rings seen sideways

Saturn’s rings are actually very thin. This picture from the Hubble Space Telescope was taken on August 6, 1995 when the rings lined up sideways as seen from Earth. Saturn’s largest moon Titan is seen on the left, and Titan’s shadow can be seen on Saturn’s cloud tops! Titan itself looks a brownish color because of its thick atmosphere. Four other moon’s of Saturn can be seen just above the ring plane, which are, from left to right: Mimas, Tethys, Janus, and Enceladus. If you look carefully, you will note that the dark band across the planet is actually the shadow of the rings, and is slightly displaced from the real rings - which are best seen away from the planet. Saturn’s rings are not solid - they are composed of ice chunks which range in size from a grain of sand to a house.

Image credit: Erich Karkoschka (University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Lab) and NASA

ikenbot: Chondrites and Chondrules Chondrites are stony...

Sun, 12 May 2013 06:00:58 -0500

ikenbot:

Chondrites and Chondrules

Chondrites are stony meteorites. They’re the most common and probably the most fascinating type of meteorite. The meteor/meteorite that broke windows in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk this past February was a stony chondrite.

The composition of chondrites is very similar to the composition of the Sun, except that they’re lacking hydrogen and helium. So, if you’d like to hold a piece of the Sun in your palm, chondrites are about as close as you can get. Their name is derived from the chondrules (spherical inclusions) observed in most of them. Chondrules are only found in meteorites.

They’re over 4 billion years old — older than the Earth and other planets. Scientists previously identified meteorites by the crystals found within chondrules, but later they realized that chondrules may recrystallize during weathering processes once they reach the Earth’s surface. Sometimes a broken face of a meteorite is weathered in such a way that 3-D chondrules are seen (above at upper right corner). However, chrondules can be more easily studied by cutting the parent chrondite into slices. Shown at center is a a microscopic image of a 3 cm slice of a chondrite that was found in northwest Africa. — Mila Zinkova

earth-phenomenon: Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool that...

Sat, 11 May 2013 06:00:44 -0500

earth-phenomenon:

Hamilton Pool Preserve is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. The pool is located near Austin, Texas, United States.

abluegirl: Winter Storm, Vishnu Temple and North Rim, Grand...

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:43 -0500

abluegirl:

Winter Storm, Vishnu Temple and North Rim, Grand Canyon by 4 Corners Photo on Flickr.

mysticplaces: Photos of the geological formations in the Afar...

Thu, 09 May 2013 06:00:53 -0500

mysticplaces:

Photos of the geological formations in the Afar Depression | Ethiopia & Djibouti

In March 2011 George traveled to the Afar Depression in Ethiopia and Djibouti, bring his motorized paraglider to take aerial photographs. The area is probably the most geologically active area in the world; with one of the few permanent lave lakes and frequent earthquakes. Most of the Afar Depression (also known as the Danakil Depression) is below sea level, and it contains the lowest point in Africa, Lake Assale in Djibouti, which is 150 meters below sea level. The lake is also the second saltiest body of water on earth, even saltier than the Dead Sea. The region is home to the semi-nomadic Afari people who eek out a living with goats, camels, and harvesting salt in one of the hottest environments on earth.

fuckyeahcrystals: Epidote, Ca2Al2(Fe3+;Al)(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH). Th...

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:00:54 -0500

fuckyeahcrystals:

Epidote, Ca₂Al₂(Fe³⁺;Al)(SiO₄)(Si₂O₇)O(OH).

The anisotropy, or directional asymmetry, of epidote causes the stone to appear different colors from different directions. The crystal structure bends light differently depending on the path, appearing to you as a color change.

This picture shows a bluish-green for the crystals on the left, and a more yellow-green on the right.

mineralists: Hematite var. Iron Rose Selle Lake area, Italy

Tue, 07 May 2013 06:00:41 -0500

mineralists:

Hematite var. Iron Rose
Selle Lake area, Italy

inlovewithgeosciences: Eclogite folds Locality: Norway

Mon, 06 May 2013 06:00:54 -0500

inlovewithgeosciences:

Eclogite folds

Locality: Norway

standingkatz: Check out my gneissic rock. #geology...

Sun, 05 May 2013 06:00:53 -0500

standingkatz:

Check out my gneissic rock. #geology #metamorphicrocks

cariadnee: Cool Geology of the Day: This is a photomicrograph...

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:00:53 -0500

cariadnee:

Cool Geology of the Day:

This is a photomicrograph of ooids in thin section from Utah. Ooids form in shallow marine or lacustrine environments, when a tiny grain is rolled along the seabed or lake bottom by waves. The mineral calcite precipitates on the outside of that grain, and it continues to grow in size as long as it is covered by water.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolite