View allAll Photos Tagged Basalt
This piece of basalt is breaking down into clay minerals. The amygdales were probably filled with carbonate minerals, they are the dark brown spots up to 8mm in diameter.
Two large basalt rocks. Each makes a different beautiful tone when struck by a small piece of granite as demonstrated by our loval guide.
Colorized image from Opportunity showing a basaltic rock with white veins. I white-balanced (if I can coin a verb) the image.
Basalt is a hard igneous rock that is formed from the lava of volcanoes.
Many areas around the world utilized basalt in all forms of art, specifically sculpture, especially the ancient Egyptians, Olmecs, and Aztecs.
Due to it's hard nature, the stone was difficult to carve, however it produced stunning statues. When sanded down a shiny black statue would remain.
Basalt has also been used to create stones and pavements as its durable nature allowed it to withstand large amounts of wear and tear.
Tenerife.
Day trip on Mount Teide
Seen from Pino Gordo.
One of the interesting natural phenomena in Tenerife are the basalt rock formations.
A well known is the basalt rock rose, but there are numerous similar rock formations all over the place.
These formations are the result of a combination of processes that began when the lava flow cooled to form these unique stone structures. When the lava is solidifying, its mass shrinks and cracks, so when the rocks are exposed to the weather, they tend to fracture, and sometimes they adopt characteristic shapes. In some cases, "balls" are formed by desquamation; in others, when rocks break in hexagonal prisms, "organs" originate. If the cracks are radial they favor the detachment of large "stone petals" forming the "roses."
Translated from www.wildcanarias.com/piedra-la-rosa-tenerife/