View allAll Photos Tagged BasaltColumns
Staffa is an island in the Inner Hebrides in Argyll & Bute. It's best known for its basalt columns and sea caves.
This is Litlanesfoss, surrounding by snow-covered basalt columns. The weather was too bad to continue up the hill towards Hengifoss. I may try and revisit tomorrow.
Panská skála rock, Prácheň, Czech Republic.
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INFO:
"Panská skála rock: National natural monument (NNM) – so-called “rock organ” situated near the village of Prácheň close to Kamenický Šenov. This rock formation consists of mostly vertical basalt columns (pentagonal or hexagonal in shape). In the 19th and 20th centuries, basalt columns were mined in the area. After the mining was discontinued, the mine pit was filled with rainwater to create a small lake, which is now a part of the NNM. The Panská skála rock has been a protected rock formation since 1895, which makes it the oldest geological preserve in the country. It is accessible for both hikers and cyclists." (Source: www.ceskesvycarsko.cz/)
My daughter and I met up about halfway between our homes on Sunday for lunch and to take photos . Neither of us had been to Fingal Head before but it was a beautiful and interesting spot. Most of our attention was focused on the basalt columns of the headland.
een vijver, ontstaan uit een verlaten oude steengroeve, wordt omzoomd door een nagenoeg steile helling van basaltzuilen.
This waterfall was a nice short hike in Skaftafell National Park. We got there a little late in the day so the light wasn't great, but I enjoyed the ice and snow in contrast to the warm colors of the basalt columns.
Svartifoss is a 20m (65 foot) waterfall.
From Wikipedia:
Svartifoss (Black Fall) is a waterfall in Skaftafell National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns (aka basalt columns), which gave rise to its name.
Nikon D800
16-35mm f/4 Lens
This waterfall was a nice short hike in Skaftafell National Park. We got there a little late in the day so the light wasn't great, but I enjoyed the ice and snow in contrast to the warm colors of the basalt columns.
Svartifoss is a 20m (65 foot) waterfall.
From Wikipedia:
Svartifoss (Black Fall) is a waterfall in Skaftafell National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns (aka basalt columns), which gave rise to its name.
Nikon D800
16-35mm f/4 Lens
Reynisfjara black sand beach, South Iceland
What sets Reynisfjara apart from all the rest are its black volcanic sands, smooth pebbles, unique rock formations, overall moody atmosphere and huge waves crashing on the shore.
Reynisfjara black sand beach, South Iceland
Black volcanic sands, smooth pebbles, unique rock formations, overall moody atmosphere and huge waves crashing on the shore!
This is a basalt column cliff that I would have loved to have explored in depth. However, skua began attacking me and, coupled with the rain and my looming ferry departure time, I wasn't able to stay here very long.
Grímsey, the "Pearl of the Arctic Circle," is home to only 100 people--and more than one million seabirds.
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking, mostly hexagonal basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago. This site has been studied for 300 years and greatly influenced the beginnings of the discipline of geology.
It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills.
Location
Ganh Da Dia is a small area of interlocking basalt columns sitting at the coast of Tuy An District, Phu Yen Province, Vietnam, which is about 600 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The special rock formation comprises of round and pentagon dishes stacking on top one another, hence its name "Ganh Da Dia," means dish rock promotory in vietnamese. According to scientists, this extrusive volcanic rock was a result of an ancient volcanic eruption, caused by the fast cooling of lava at the surface of the sea. There is another site like this in Ireland and that is the Giant's Causeway.
Time
I arrived before sunrise at 4:00 am when it was still dark. There was a rain on the night before and I was worry that the sun might not come out due to lots of clouds in the sky. However, it finally started to glow and the sunrise was nothing short of a fantastic light show.
Techniques
2-stop hard step grad ND filter for darkening the brighter sky and bringing it into balance with the darker foreground rock.
Circular polarizer filter for increasing the overall color saturation.
Hyperfocal distance focusing at 1.6m for fullframe 16mm at f/5.6
Single file captured in raw and processed in Lightroom.
This is the backyard. You can see the patio, the rock wall with the raised beds beyond, the firepit, the stairs, the top of the basalt column, and the wooden bench. In the foreground is the grass bench.
This is kind of an experiment. After digging the patio (the old patio had just been laid out on the bare ground, which was why it had settled badly) much of the backyard was covered with piles of dirt. Instead of hauling all the dirt away, I at first wanted to add a gentle hill to the yard. Then a friend told me about grass benches. Apparently these were all the rage in the Victorian era. We used rebar to stake out an area, then used hardware screen to further define it-- this was wired to the rebar stakes. After this frame was finished, the entire space was filled in with dirt and sod was added to the sides.
This is our second attempt. The first was last summer and was started too late. It was too hot and the sod on the sides could not get established and it died. We removed the dead sod this spring and put new sod on and this time-- with the rain helping-- it appears to be doing well. Once the roots grow in towards the middle more, I will seed the top and let that grow in too. Eventually, the roots of the grass should really help hold it all together. The top can be mowed like regular grass and the sides can be done with a weedeater or shears. I trimmed it for the first time last weekend and it was like cutting hair!
Kirkjugolfid, The Church Floor; east of Kirkjubaejarklaustur village, Iceland
The basalt columns were formed when lava cooled and contracted, cracking the rock. When this happened, the lava broke apart evenly, creating the distinctive hexagonal shape.
Copyright © Daniel Ruyle
These ancient polychromatic pictographs in Yakima, Washington were placed on columnar basalt rocks, most likely, over 1000 years ago (they are probably not associated with the local Yakama Indian tribe).
The Reynisdrangar Basalt Sea Stacks viewed from the shoreline of the picturesque village of Vik. Photographed just before Blue Hour, I just loved the green grass foreground set against a Magenta setting sun, the cool blue ocean waters, and the silhouette of Reynisdrangar in the background. Such a peaceful moment in time.
The Giant's Causeway (known as Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFomhórach in Irish and tha Giant's Causey in Ulster-Scots) is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.
It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills.
It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a national nature reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland.
The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres (92 ft) thick in places.
Much of the Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage Site is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland.
Around 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleogene Period, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive lava plateau. As the lava cooled, contraction occurred. Horizontal contraction fractured in a similar way to drying mud, with the cracks propagating down as the mass cooled, leaving pillar-like structures, which are also fractured horizontally into "biscuits". In many cases the horizontal fracture has resulted in a bottom face that is convex while the upper face of the lower segment is concave, producing what are called "ball and socket" joints. The size of the columns is primarily determined by the speed at which lava from a volcanic eruption cools.
The extensive fracture network produced the distinctive columns seen today. The basalts were originally part of a great volcanic plateau called the Thulean Plateau which formed during the Paleogene.
According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant.
The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner. In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realises that his foe is much bigger than he. Fionn's wife, Oonagh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby', he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn could not follow.
Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this.