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  • Wavy sandstone pattern by Carol Dempsey, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    99NV-C2-13-wavy-sandstone_Valley-of-...jpg
  • Billion-year-old rock breaks into a jagged pattern in Glacier National Park, Montana. This image is permanently displayed on the glass of two large lightboxes measuring 19.6 by 8.4 meters (64.3 ft wide x 27.5 ft high) and 16.3 by 3.5 meters (53.6 ft wide x 11.6 ft high), which wrap corners of the following skyscraper constructed by Axiom Builders in June 2019: SODO Residences, 620 10 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta, CANADA (on the Corner of 5th St and 10 Ave SW). Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976). Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these older sediments over newer Cretaceous age rocks.
    02GLA-04-38_Rock-edge-pattern.jpg
  • Exfoliating Navajo sandstone forms a pattern shaped like a panther head, in a fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period. Hike to Rim Overlook, in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. (Along the way, don't miss the side trip to majestic Hickman Natural Bridge.) Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, formed in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA. Steeply tilted Triassic and Jurassic rocks form the hogbacks of the Waterpocket Fold and Capitol Reef, which is built of dark-red dune-formed Wingate Sandstone, thinly bedded river deposits of the Kayenta Formation, crested by the massive, white, dune-formed Navajo Sandstone.
    1503SW-0251_sandstone-panther-head.jpg
  • Exfoliating red rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2290.jpg
  • exfoliating green and yellow-green paint pattern on a gray garbage can lid. Seattle, Washington, USA.
    0705SEA-2.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0283_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0375_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-131_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0379_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0364_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0290_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0293_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0340_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • A brown sandstone rock pattern exfoliates in Ding Canyon on BLM land in the San Rafael Swell, near Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, USA. As part of the Colorado Plateau, the San Rafael Swell is a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone (160-175 million years old) that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 60-40 million years ago. Since then, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas, and buttes. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers American public lands.
    1503SW3-143_Ding-Canyon.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0373_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0282_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0378_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0342_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.
    1503SW-0288_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2309.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2256.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2310.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2279.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2282.jpg
  • Glacier-scoured exfoliating rock pattern in Hoover Wilderness of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Eastern Sierra Nevada, Mono County, California, USA.
    2007CA-2268.jpg
  • Blue paint weathers, fades, and exfoliates on an old door in Huaraz, Peru, South America. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    00PER-37-27_blue-door-MASTER.jpg
  • Driftwood exfoliation pattern. Lummi Island, in the Salish Sea, Whatcom County, Washington, USA.
    1312WA-119.jpg
  • Ancient sandstone exfoliates in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1274_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Ancient sandstone exfoliates in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1275_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Ancient sandstone exfoliates in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1277_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Driftwood exfoliation pattern. Lummi Island, in the Salish Sea, Whatcom County, Washington, USA.
    1312WA-120.jpg
  • Ancient sandstone exfoliates in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1273_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Ancient sandstone exfoliates in the White Domes area in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, USA. Starting more than 150 million years ago, great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs were compressed, uplifting, faulted, and eroded to form the park's fiery red sandstone formations. The park adjoins Lake Mead National Recreation Area at the Virgin River confluence, at an elevation of 2000 to 2600 feet (610-790 m), 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Las Vegas, USA. Park entry from Interstate 15 passes through the Moapa Indian Reservation.
    11NV1-1271_Valley-of-Fire-SP-Nevada.jpg
  • Layers of bedrock erode and exfoliate along the Lake Superior shoreline, in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Michigan, USA. The park was established in 1945 to protect the last large stand of uncut hardwood-hemlock forest remaining in the Midwest. .Native Ojibwa people named the local mountains for their porcupine silhouette. Published in Milwaukee Magazine, September 2005.
    03MI-G0039_Lake-Superior-shore_Porcu...jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above krumholtz trees atop Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2888_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Hike the scenic Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 15 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2829-43pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Hikers explore atop Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-125_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 6 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-112-117pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-175_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-132-134pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • See Mount Shasta from the trail to Castle Dome in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2900.jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above krumholtz trees atop Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 13 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2869-81pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Granite spires soar above Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2864_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • See Mount Shasta from Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2811_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Hike the spectacular Castle Dome Trail, in Castle Crags State Park, Castella, California. The majestic Castle Crags State Park is just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome. This panorama was stitched from 10 overlapping photos.
    1507CAL-2819-28pan_Castle-Crags-SP.jpg
  • Granite pinnacles soar above Castle Dome Trail in Castle Crags State Park, just west of Interstate 5, between the towns of Castella and Dunsmuir, in California, USA. One of my favorite hikes in the state is to Castle Dome, on an excellent trail 5.8 miles round trip with 2100 feet gain. Geology: although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, granite plutons intruded in many areas during the Jurassic period. Heavy Pleistocene glaciation eroded much of the softer surrounding rock leaving soaring crags and spires exposed. Exfoliation of huge, convex slabs of granite made rounded towers such as the prominent Castle Dome.
    1507CAL-2899.jpg
  • Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-079-80pan_Enchanted-Rock_Texa...jpg
  • Atop Enchanted Rock, looking towards Little Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 3 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-191-203pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Hikers ascend Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 5 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-211-215pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • A family with children explores boulders atop Enchanted Rock. Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-180_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-174_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Boulders erode and split from the top of Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-168_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Cactus and grass grow in a bowl atop Enchanted Rock. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost. This panorama was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1403TX-159-160pan_Enchanted-Rock_Tex...jpg
  • Climbers practice at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Fredericksburg, Texas, USA. Explore a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-231_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Hikers explore atop a large pink granite dome at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, between Fredericksburg and Llano, Texas, USA. Enchanted Rock is a fascinating exfoliation dome (with layers like an onion), rising 425 feet (130 m) above its surroundings to elevation of 1825 feet (556 m) above sea level, in the Llano Uplift. Geologically, the exposed rock (monadnock or inselberg, "island mountain") is part of a pluton (bubble of rock slowly crystallized from magma) within the billion-year-old igneous batholith, Town Mountain Granite (covering 62 square miles mostly underground), which intruded from a deep pool of hot magma 7 miles upwards into the older metamorphic Packsaddle Schist. The overlying sedimentary rock (Cretaceous Edwards limestone) eroded away to expose the prominent domes seen today: Enchanted Rock, Little Rock, Turkey Peak, Freshman Mountain, and Buzzard's Roost.
    1403TX-154_Enchanted-Rock_Texas.jpg
  • Billion-year-old rock breaks into blue and orange patterns in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Rocks in the park are primarily sedimentary layers deposited in shallow seas over 1.6 billion to 800 million years ago. During the tectonic formation of the Rocky Mountains 170 million years ago, the Lewis Overthrust displaced these old rocks over newer Cretaceous age rocks. Since 1932, Canada and USA have shared Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site (1995) containing two Biosphere Reserves (1976).
    02GLA-03-04-Exfoliating-rock-pattern.jpg
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