100-2152.JPG
Alabama Hills outside Lone Pine from Horseshoe Meadow Rd.
The rock formations were recently figured to be from the same source as the Sierras, that is granite and faulting, but the weathering down in the valley rounded them instead of splintering them like the rocks higher up. They were covered with soil and moisture originally and also stained by the oxidation of the iron in the rock. Most of the time people just pass them off as volcanic because they certainly look like they oozed out of something. Decent description online here.
www.sherpaguides.com/california/mountains/eastern_sierra/...
Oh, and they're called the Alabama hills because Southern sympathizers during the Civil war were mining gold out here and heard about the victories of the Confederate ship Alabama and decided to name their claims after it. The name stuck for the whole region.
100-2152.JPG
Alabama Hills outside Lone Pine from Horseshoe Meadow Rd.
The rock formations were recently figured to be from the same source as the Sierras, that is granite and faulting, but the weathering down in the valley rounded them instead of splintering them like the rocks higher up. They were covered with soil and moisture originally and also stained by the oxidation of the iron in the rock. Most of the time people just pass them off as volcanic because they certainly look like they oozed out of something. Decent description online here.
www.sherpaguides.com/california/mountains/eastern_sierra/...
Oh, and they're called the Alabama hills because Southern sympathizers during the Civil war were mining gold out here and heard about the victories of the Confederate ship Alabama and decided to name their claims after it. The name stuck for the whole region.