A close up view, about 12mm x 8mm, of the edge of a blue agate slice sitting on top of a slice of blue fluorite.

Agate is a rock consisting primarily of cryptocrystalline silica, chiefly chalcedony, alternating with microgranular quartz. It is characterized by its fineness of grain and variety of colour. Although agates may be found in various kinds of host rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks (Wiki).

Fluorite is a colourful mineral, both in visible and ultraviolet light, and the stone has ornamental and lapidary uses (Wiki).

Macro Mondays: Rock

Thank you all for your views, faves and/or comments! It’s greatly appreciated! Happy MM! :-)

A wonderful couple of days spent at Portknockie in Scotland whilst waiting for the sun to appear so I could capture this amazing natural structure.

This was taken before the sun appeared but I quite liked the tones!

Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow. It is composed of Quartzite, a metamorphic rock which was originally quartz sandstone.

Lapis lazuli, or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized for its intense color. I received this necklace back when I was in college from a dear friend.

Kaiblingjoch, Schladminger Tauern, with Karlspitze (2180 m) and Moaralmspitze (2267 m) in the background. The geology is completely different compared to the Dachstein. You can see metamorphic rocks which are rocks, that have recrystallized under high temperature and pressure. The Dachstein, on the other hand, is made of millions of years old coral reefs.

Malachite is a beautiful, green, semi-precious stone. Malachite forms when water containing carbon dioxide or dissolved carbonate minerals interacts with pre-existing copper containing rocks or when solutions containing dissolved copper minerals interact with carbonate rocks. Rock type: Sedimentary, Metamorphic HMM :-)

A view of just a few of the many peaks of the Opal range.

"The Opal Range is roughly 70 km (44 mi) from Calgary, Alberta along Highway 40 (Kananaskis Trail). Running roughly north to south the Opal Range covers approximately 185 sq. km (70 sq. mi). There 33 named peaks within the range.

The Opal Range is characterized by its sawtooth profiles created by near vertically tilted layers of limestone, deep gullies, and steep limestone slab faces.

Composed mainly of limestone, the Opal Range has fossilized corals, oyster beds, shark teeth, and other evidence of ancient marine life. The range also has localized outcrops of conglomerate dolomite and metamorphic quartzite, adding some color and variation to the otherwise dull grey limestone.

The Laramide orogeny, the process which created the Rocky Mountains, started 70 to 80 million years ago and lasted for 15 to 50 million years. This period saw the tectonic plates from the west slide under the North American plates, deforming and rippling the landscape to form the Rocky Mountains.

Glaciers covered the mountains for millions of years and likely finally melted from the valleys only 10,000 years ago. There is strong evidence of glaciation throughout the valleys and upon the mountains, such as cirques, moraines, kames, and eskers throughout the valleys and slopes.

George Dawson named the range after he discovered small cavities lined with quartz and what he thought was a thin film of opal. It was not opal, but a chert with a similar appearance because of the quartz impurities embedded into the silica.

Despite the mistake, the name has stuck and the range has long been known in English as the Opal Range. Plus, Opal Range sounds better than Chert Range, in our opinion, anyway." peakvisor.com

Thanks for taking a look!

I have collected rocks and pebbles all my life,

these are around the pond, they looked great in the rain,

Many of them are from local beaches and some from other places including overseas, when someone wants to make me happy they bring me rocks:-)

Taken @Central Park, Manhattan aka "The City"

"The bedrock underlying much of Manhattan is a mica schist known as Manhattan schist[135] of the Manhattan Prong physiographic region. It is a strong, competent metamorphic rock that was created when Pangaea formed. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings. In Central Park, outcrops of Manhattan schist occur and Rat Rock is one rather large example."

Note: You see, that's why they could build so many skyscrapers.

This is another gorge requiring protected status.

There are many striking elements to this landscape. In spring the overhanging fig trees are dressed in brilliant lime-coloured leaves and in the sunlight it is a mesmerising scene.

While the geology is bold, we are actually seeing a major geological interface between the granodiorites of the gorge floor and the overriding metamorphic rocks of the Amamoor beds.

The gorge is very much a sanctuary for it has not been burnt, unlike the forest on the plateau above. So here there are species of plant and of animals that survive in this sanctuary.

Nikki (pictured) and the others in the group of hikers will never forget that day because of a special discovery we made - or rather came to us!

At Joshua Tree National Park.

Anthropomorphic interpretations are fun but what is really amazing is that these were born more than 100 million years ago. These say the oldest are around 1 billion years old!

An interstellar visitor or alternatively Fractal 7-01 created in Dumbarton.

Stellardrone - Billions And Billions

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AveCENBgybQ

Please right click the link and open in a new tab to view and listen. Thank you !

Rollingstone1's most interesting photos on Flickriver

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The metamorphic rock in the foreground is comprised of layers of quartz, feldspar and black mica.

The white rock near the top right of the frame is igneous rock, primarily pegmatite, which was squeezed between the layers of metamorphic rock while both were still deep in the earth's crust approximately 400 million years ago.

Pemaquid Point lighthouse, by itself would be relatively unremarkable were it not for this fascinating and massive gneiss of vertical rock layers between the light and the water below.

The Maroon Bells mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County Colorado, about 12 miles southwest of Aspen.

Unlike other mountains in the Rockies that are composed of granite and limestone, the Bells are composed of metamorphic sedimentary mudstone that has hardened into rock over million of years. The mudstone is also responsible for the Bells' distinctive maroon color.

Moon Lake occupies a basin that was sculpted by Ice-Age glaciers and later dammed by a landslide and rockfall from the steep slopes above the valley floor.

Thank you for your comments,

Gemma

Is every landscape an image of time? The eternal sky shining in sunlight scattered at the universal speed limit; the clouds being made at the moment; the distant trees living hardly longer than a human being; the land lifted by mantle turbulence over millions of years, the relentless Colorado River—into which no one can step twice—carving, carving, carving, aided by rain and frost over a few million years, deep into hard ancient rock; the stack of sediments, all older than 300 million years, and the deep metamorphic basement formed about 1.7 billion years ago.

Happy Valentines Day!

14 Feb 2023; 05:15 UTC

Explored 14 Feb 2023, no97

Fresh snow surrounds a small lake that lies on the Beartooth Plateau at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. The lake sits in a depression plucked out of the Archean granite and gneiss by glaciers. The site lies along the Beartooth Highway (US 212) that crosses the Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming

This tunnel on the old road that ran through Shoshone Canyon west of Cody Wyoming ends at the powerplant near the base of the dam. This was the route that all the supplies and men needed to build the Buffalo Bill Dam traveled.

The Dam was authorized in 1904 by the newly created Bureau Of Reclamation. Buffalo Bill Cody proposed the dam to provide irrigation water to the area around his the town he had founded, Cody Wyoming. Construction commenced in 1905. After several setbacks, the dam was completed in 1910. At the time the Shoshone Dam was the tallest dam in the world at 325 feet (99 meters). A power plant was added in 1920. The dam and reservoir's name change to Buffalo Bill in 1946 to honor Mr. Cody and his dream of irrigated land in the Bighorn Basin.

Today the old road still provides access to the dam and some of the power plants. It is also used as a walking trail. The canyon walls in this area are made up of metamorphic and Igneous rocks that date to around 2.6 billion years ago. Geologist call this time period during the Precambrian the Archean Eon. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The layered gneissic complex in Shoshone Canyon consists of hornblende mica schist cut by granodiorite and granite pegmatites.

The texture and shapes of the weathered cliffs along this coast are superb. Even though I was chasing landscapes yesterday, I couldn't resist one of the wonderful patterns. No title would be suitable, so Cease and Desist by Brakes is as good as any.

The Beartooth Plateau rises above the Clarks Fork Valley along The Chief Joseph Highway (WY 296) northwest of Cody Wyoming. This photo was taken just after a short snow squall moved across the peaks. The photo shows U-shaped, glacially-carved valleys in the Canyon Creek drainage on the west side of the plateau.

Geologically, the core of the Beartooth Plateau is composed of a igneous-metamorphic rock complex of Archean age which has been dated radiometrically at around than 2.6 billion years old. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed.

The Beartooth Mountains rise up at the end of Island Lake on the Beartooth Plateau in northwest Wyoming.

Metamorphic rocks on Sandend beach; a legacy from another world. A sunny but cold morning walk on my favourite beach…

All rights reserved - © Moraypix Photography

Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow. It is composed of Quartzite, a metamorphic rock which was originally quartz sandstone.

This rock is part of the Cullen Quartzite formation which is seen along the coast between Buckie and Cullen. The formation is some 2,400m thick and dates from the Neoproterozoic Era, 1,000 to 541 million years ago.

Sierra de las Quijadas is located in the San Luis Basin, whose surface is composed of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous outcrops of various ages.

The Old Moonstone Cabin in Miller Pocket, Granite Mountains, Wyoming.

This is the view of the Beartooth Plateau Ridge and Moon Creek Valley as seen fromm the Beartooth Highway. Rock Creek Canyon lies between Moon Creek Valley and the Highway. The pullout, from which the photo was taken, is located in Wyoming while most of the peaks in the photo lie in Montana. The features in the photo are from left to right; Spirit Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the flanks of Mount Reargaurd on the Hellroaring Plateau. The rocks exposed here are part of an Archean metamorphic-igneous complex. They range in age between 3.6 and 2.7 billion years. These old rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The current topography was carved by glaciers that covered the plateaus and flowed down valleys.

Snow is visible on Cedar Mountain on the south side of Shoshone Canyon west of Cody Wyoming. The canyon cuts through the folded strata of the Rattlesnake Mountain Anticline. Paleozoic Limestones and shale make up the up 2/3 of the mountain face. The reddish brown cliff above the lake is a complex composed of a Precambrian Igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Buffalo Bill dam (not visible) lies between the two cliffs of Precambrian Rocks. The lake in the photo is the Buffalo Bill Reservoir which forms behind the dam.

The Great Stone Face (6795’) lies in the Sweetwater Rocks near Jeffery City, Wyoming. Geologically, this granite knobs is located in the Archean-age Sweetwater subprovince of the Wyoming Craton. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The Sweetwater subprovince has an east-west tectonic grain which is caused by a shear zone between the Sweetwater and Southern Accredited Terrane subprovinces along the southern edge of the Wyoming microcontinent.

Peaks in the Beartooth Mountains rise up at the end of Island Lake in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming. Sitting at 9,518′ elevation, Island Lake covers 146 acres to a maximum depth of about 100ft. Tha lake is part of an area often refered to as the Bertooth High lakes. The mountains an lakes here were carved out by Pleistocene glaciers

This granite knob lies in the Sweewater Rocks in the Granite Mountains near Jeffery City, Wyoming. Geologically, this granite knob is located in the Archean-age Sweetwater subprovince of the Wyoming Craton. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The Sweetwater subprovince has an east-west tectonic grain which is caused by a shear zone between the Sweetwater and Southern Accredited Terrane subprovinces along the southern edge of the Wyoming microcontinent.

Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow. It is composed of Quartzite, a metamorphic rock which was originally quartz sandstone.

This rock is part of the Cullen Quartzite formation which is seen along the coast between Buckie and Cullen. The formation is some 2,400m thick and dates from the Neoproterozoic Era, 1,000 to 541 million years ago.

First rays of sunlight on the peak of the Grand Teton. Photo taken on a clear and very cold September morning from the Snake River Overlook.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm

The Beartooth Plateau rises in the behind The Chief Joseph Highway. Geologically, the large core of the Beartooth Plateau is composed chiefly of a metamorphic rock complex of Precambrian age which has been dated radiometrically as more than 2 billion years old.

Miller Pocket in the Granite Mountains of Wyoming.

Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch near Portknockie on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. It is so called because it resembles the tip of a fiddle bow. It is composed of Quartzite, a metamorphic rock which was originally quartz sandstone.

This rock is part of the Cullen Quartzite formation which is seen along the coast between Buckie and Cullen. The formation is some 2,400m thick and dates from the Neoproterozoic Era, 1,000 to 541 million years ago.

This pullout on the east side (Cody side) of the long tunnel on the Yellowstone Highway in Shoshone Canyon west of Cody Wyoming is for rock climbers. They come to climb the inner canyon walls which are made up of metamorphic and Igneous rocks that date to around 2.6 billion years ago. Geologist call this time period during the Precambrian the Archean Eon. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The layered gneissic complex in Shoshone Canyon consists of hornblende mica schist cut by granodiorite and granite pegmatites. These crystalline rocks are favored by climbers.

+ RL folded paper, cuz i love origami.

Origami is the art of reshaping ideas and exploring concepts. Origami is a metamorphic art: you don't add and you don't take away, you change it. Changing the memory of paper, you forge life.

The Beartooth Plateau rises above the Clarks Fork Valley along The Chief Joseph Highway (WY 296) northwest of Cody Wyoming. The photo shows U-shaped, glacially-carved valleys in the Canyon Creek drainage on the west side of the plateau.

Geologically, the core of the Beartooth Plateau is composed of a igneous-metamorphic rock complex of Archean age which has been dated radiometrically at around than 2.6 billion years old. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed.

The metamorphic rock ledges along the Maine coastline were formed from mud and sand pressed into sedimentary rock, then changed by extreme heat and more pressure over long periods of time and brought to the surface by volcanic action and erosion.

Compositional layering ican be seen in the Gnessic Complex that forms most of the walls of the inner part of Shoshone Canyon west of Cody Wyoming. The metamorphic and Igneous rocks exposed here date to around 2.6 billion years ago. Geologist call that time period during the Precambrian the Archean Eon. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed. The layered gneissic complex in Shoshone Canyon consists of hornblende mica schist cut by sills of granodiorite and granite pegmatites.

Gneiss outcrops along the Beartooth Highway near the Highway Maintenance Station close to Clay Butte in nortwestern Wyoming. The gneiss exposed here belongs to a igneous-metamorphic rock complex of Archean age which has been dated radiometrically at around than 2.6 billion years old. These rocks represent a time when Wyoming was a separate microcontinent called the Wyoming Craton which existed 500 million years before the North American Continent formed.

This a view just north of the 3 tunnels in the Canyon. US 20 runs along the river on the right side. The railroad can be seen on the other side of the river. The northernmost of the railroad tunnels through the Precambrian rocks can be seen in the distance along the tracks.

Walls of the Sunlight Canyon as seen fron the High Bridge that spans the canyon on the Chief Joseph Highway in the Sunlight Basin The granitic gneiss that make up the walls are part of metamorphic-igneous rock complex of Precambrian age which has been dated radiometrically as between 2.8 and 2.6 billion years old.

Old Red Sandstone Sedimentary rocks the Eastern Moray coast.

The geology of Moray consists of an ancient basement of metamorphic rocks, the Moine Schist and Dalradian Schist, intruded by a series of granitic igneous rocks belonging to the Caledonian episode of mountain building, then uni:;onformably overlain by Old Red Sandstone sediments of the Devonian Period.

Twin Lakes in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest can be seen from the Beartooth Highway. In the distance is the canyon of The North Fork of Rock Creek. The rocks in this photo are part of an igneous and metamorphic complex that has been dated at between 2.8 and 2.6 billion years old. These crystalline rocks are part of the Wyoming Craton which was a microcontinent starting 2.6 BYA (billion years ago)cirque.

The lakes are glacial lakes that like in a cirque cut by a Pleistocene-aged glacier. The lakes lie in Wyoming but the Canyon is mostly in Montana. In this photo, the state line runs across the photo horizontally between the lakes and the deepest part of the Canyon.

There is a series of witchbacks with hairpin curves on the Beartooth Highway either side of Beartooth Pass. The pass lies on the Wyoming side of the plateau at an elevation of 10,947‘. The igneous and metamorphic rocks that make up most of the plateau as well as small lakes and patches of snow are visible in this photo. The lakes are some of the many glacial lakes on the plateau which were the result of Pleistocene glaciation.

THe Beatooth Highway was completed in 1936 and still is considered an engineering accomplishment. The highway is listed as an Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.