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24-million-year-old Basalt columns - Basaltsäulen

Parkstein bei Weiden in der Oberpfalz;

 

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Most likely in November of 1796, Alexander von Humboldt called the 24-million-year-old basalt formation the most beautiful he had encountered in Europe. According to the Bavarian State Geology Office, during the Cenozoic, from Paleocene to the Pliocene epochs, a number of active volcanoes produced liquid magma in Northern Bavaria, mostly due to the continental collision of Europe and Africa. As a result, not only the Alps but a number of fissures and cracks began to form throughout central Europe where magma could rise. Most of the Parkstein's magma cooled below the surface, leading to the crystalline column formation that is now exposed as a result of erosion.

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkstein

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Uploaded on August 10, 2014
Taken on July 31, 2014