View allAll Photos Tagged quartzite
[White Crown] On display in the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court are the Quartzite Heads of the Ninth Pharaoh Amenhotep III, Eighteenth Dynasty (c.1350 BC), found in the massive mortuary temple of the pharaoh on the West Bank of the River Nile at Thebes (Luxor) Egypt. One head has the king wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt. The style is typical of sculpture of Amenhotep III, especially in the treatment of the eyes and foreshadows the artistic mannerisms of the Armana Period at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The companion piece exhibited on the other side of the doorway comes from the same king’s mortuary but wears the white crown of Upper Egypt | British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection numbers some 8 million works, and is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire, and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. It is the first national public museum in the world. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the Irish physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane. It first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Its expansion over the following two and a half centuries was largely a result of expanding British colonization and has resulted in the creation of several branch institutions, the first being the British Museum (Natural History) – now the Natural History Museum – in 1881. The museum is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and as with all other national museums in the United Kingdom it charges no admission fee, except for loan exhibitions. Its ownership of some of its most famous objects originating in other countries is disputed and remains the subject of international controversy, most notably in the case of the Parthenon Marbles. The British Museum was founded as a "universal museum"; its foundations lie in the will of the Irish physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), a London-based doctor and scientist from Ulster. During the course of his lifetime Sloane gathered a large collection of curiosities and, not wishing to see his collection broken up after death, he bequeathed it to King George II, for the nation.
"The Big Rock is one of several thousand erratics found in Alberta and Montana called the Foothills Erratics Train, which originated from a landslide in the Tonquin Valley of Jasper National Park, from Lower Cambrian-aged Gog Group. Big Rock was transported along the confluence of the Cordilleran "Ice Sheet and the Laurentide Ice Sheet approximately 12 to 18 thousand years ago to its present location. The 15,000 tonne (16,500 short ton) quartzite boulder is the world's largest known glacial erratic." - Wikipedia
One of the most beautiful statues in the entire museum -- Horemakhet, son of Shabaka, and high priest of Amun.
Quartzite. 25th Dynasty. Karnak.
Luxor, Egypt
On this evening we endeavoured to find the illusive Teardrop Lake nestled on top of a peak on Killarney ridge. This time we tried to mostly follow along the shore of O.S.A. Lake, though from our elevated location on the ridge. This made for some incredible views of the quartzite hills and the lake.
Here, you can see the beautiful blue waters of O.S.A. and a bit of Killarney lake beyond. Blue ridge stands along the background, while Killarney ridge fills the foreground.
We made it quite close to Teardrop lake, only to find ourselves separated from it by a rather sheer cliff face. Facing the setting of the sun that evening, we decided we'd rather not make the treacherous hike back in the dark and headed home.
DATE:
August 4th, 2008
LOCATION:
Killarney Ridge over O.S.A, Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
As the morning progressed and I headed east, the fog lifted exposing some spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery, including this peak, one of the most imposing that I've seen on this trip. It is Mount Fitzwilliam, one of the landmarks of Mount Robson Provincial Park situated just a few kilometres west of the Alberta-BC border. I guess it is the way that the clouds are gripping the summit and the appearance that the base of the mountain is more elevated than the roadway that gives it such a dramatic look. So much so that when I first saw it I thought that it would have been a good second choice for God to give Moses the Ten Commandments.
The mountain has an elevation of 2,907 m (9,538 ft) and is characterized by having two colour tones, dark at the top and lighter at the bottom. The bottom is said to be made of pale dolomite (magnesium and calcium carbonate) and the top part of quartzite (silica) covered with lichen that gives it the dark colour. It was named after the sixth Earl of Fitzwilliam (British aristocracy) who happened to be the father of Viscount Milton who travelled in this region in 1863.
Last post for today of a series of images of fur. If you like these first four images posted today, be aware that they are the "pretty" images. Tomorrow I will be posting the rest of the series and those images will not be what most people would call beautiful...
Taken at a dealer in fur at the Quartzite annual show for art and crafts. I went there for the Rock and Gem Show venue, but the last stop of the day was to the venue I call "See All Kinds of Crap from All Over the World".
Quartzite in the Precambrian of South Dakota, USA.
Extensive outcrops of pinkish, Paleoproterozoic-aged quartzites are present at Falls Park along the Big Sioux River in the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The quartzites here have nicely water-worn, sculpted surfaces. These rocks are part of the Sioux Quartzite, which consists of 1.65 to 1.70 billion year old metamorphosed sandstones. Despite the metamorphism, original sedimentary features such as horizontal stratification, cross-bedding, and ripple marks are still preserved.
The Sioux Quartzite is an erosion-resistant unit in America’s midcontinent. It has formed a long-lived paleotopographic high since Precambrian times - the Sioux tectonic core. This high is part of a northeast-to-southwest trending series of paleotopographic highs & depressions known as the Transcontinental Arch, which extends from Arizona to Minnesota (see Carlson, 1999).
Quarries of Sioux Quartzite occur in southeastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. The rocks are used as building stone, road gravel, sidewalk and paving gravel, and erosion control material.
Stratigraphy: Sioux Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, 1.65-1.70 Ga
Locality: Falls Park, near Sioux Falls along the Big Sioux River in the town of Sioux Falls, southeastern South Dakota, USA
------------------
Reference cited:
Carlson (1999) - Transcontinental Arch - a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America. Tectonophysics 305: 225-233.
Quartzite (metaquartzite) (3.0 centimeters across at its widest)
Metamorphic rocks result from intense alteration of any previously existing rocks by heat and/or pressure and/or chemical change. This can happen as a result of regional metamorphism (large-scale tectonic events, such as continental collision or subduction), burial metamorphism (super-deep burial), contact metamorphism (by the heat & chemicals from nearby magma or lava), hydrothermal metamorphism (by superheated groundwater), shear metamorphism (in or near a fault zone), or shock metamorphism (by an impact event). Other categories include thermal metamorphism, kinetic metamorphism, and nuclear metamorphism. Many metamorphic rocks have a foliated texture, but some are crystalline or glassy.
Quartzite is a common, crystalline-textured, intermediate- to high-grade metamorphic rock. It forms by metamorphism of quartzose sandstones or siltstones. Quartzite can be entirely composed of interlocking quartz crystals, or the original sand grains may still be visible. This rock is hard (H = 7), will not bubble in acid (unlike marble), and can be almost any color.
The term “quartzite” has been used in geology to refer to crystalline, quartzose metamorphic rocks and to hard, well-cemented quartzose sandstones that have not been subjected to metamorphism. It is difficult to not call hard, well-cemented sandstones “quartzite” (for example, the Clinch Quartzite in the Appalachian Mountains & the Eureka Quartzite of the Great Basin in western USA). But the Clinch and Eureka aren’t metamorphic rocks. The term metaquartzite has been used by some geologists to refer to crystalline-textured, quartzose rocks that have been metamorphosed. This implies that “quartzite” be restricted to well-cemented, non-metamorphosed sandstones. I don’t often see the term metaquartzite used in the geologic literature.
An unusual rock specimen seen in Quartzite, Arizona at the annual Quartzite Rock and Gem Show, "Sonoran Sunset" is a trade name. These pieces on a shelf in a vendor display show three slabs, each about 6 inches in the longest side. It polishes beautifully to make fine gemstones for jewelry settings. The minerals are cuprite (red), chrysocolla (green) and tenorite (black).
See the previous three images for more detail and "before and after" views of how this finishes for jewelry use. The vendor is "All in Vein", at the Tyson Wells show.
Quartzite from the Precambrian of South Dakota, USA. (5.9 centimeters across at its widest)
Metamorphic rocks result from intense alteration of any previously existing rocks by heat and/or pressure and/or chemical change. This can happen as a result of regional metamorphism (large-scale tectonic events, such as continental collision or subduction), burial metamorphism (super-deep burial), contact metamorphism (by the heat & chemicals from nearby magma or lava), hydrothermal metamorphism (by superheated groundwater), shear metamorphism (in or near a fault zone), or shock metamorphism (by an impact event). Other categories include thermal metamorphism, kinetic metamorphism, and nuclear metamorphism. Many metamorphic rocks have a foliated texture, but some are crystalline or glassy.
Quartzite is a common, crystalline-textured, intermediate- to high-grade metamorphic rock. It forms by metamorphism of quartzose sandstones or siltstones. Quartzite can be entirely composed of interlocking quartz crystals, or the original sand grains may still be visible. This rock is hard (H = 7), will not bubble in acid (unlike marble), and can be almost any color.
The term “quartzite” has been used in geology to refer to crystalline, quartzose metamorphic rocks and to hard, well-cemented quartzose sandstones that have not been subjected to metamorphism. It is difficult to not call hard, well-cemented sandstones “quartzite” (for example, the Clinch Quartzite in the Appalachian Mountains & the Eureka Quartzite of the Great Basin in western USA). But the Clinch and Eureka aren’t metamorphic rocks. The term metaquartzite has been used by some geologists to refer to crystalline-textured, quartzose rocks that have been metamorphosed. This implies that “quartzite” be restricted to well-cemented, non-metamorphosed sandstones. I don’t often see the term metaquartzite used in the geologic literature.
The quartzite sample shown above is from South Dakota's Sioux Quartzite. Extensive outcrops of pinkish, Paleoproterozoic-aged quartzites are present at Falls Park along the Big Sioux River in the city of Sioux Falls. The quartzites here have nicely water-worn, sculpted surfaces with good, fluvially abraded polish in places. These rocks are part of the Sioux Quartzite (upper Paleoproterozoic, 1.65-1.70 Ga). Despite being subjected to regional metamorphism, this unit’s original sedimentary features, such as horizontal stratification and ripple marks, are still preserved.
The Sioux Quartzite is a famous erosion-resistant unit in America’s midcontinent. It has formed a long-lived paleotopographic high since Precambrian times - the Sioux tectonic core. This high is part of a NE-SW trending series of paleotopographic highs & depressions known as the Transcontinental Arch, which extends from Arizona to Minnesota (see Carlson, 1999).
Stratigraphy: Sioux Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, 1.65 to 1.70 Ga
Locality: Falls Park along the Big Sioux River in the city of Sioux Falls, southeastern South Dakota, USA
-----------------
Reference cited:
Carlson (1999) - Transcontinental Arch - a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America. Tectonophysics 305: 225-233.
Therme Vals, Peter Zumthor's masterpiece in Vals, Switzerland, is made from local quartzite stone and bermed into the slope beneath a hotel that it is connected to.
Seneca Rocks is one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia. These rocks have long been noted as a scenic attraction and are popular with rock climbers.
The rocks are a magnificent formation rising nearly 900 feet above the North Fork River. Eastern West Virginia contains many such formations of the white/gray Tuscarora quartzite. Seneca Rocks and nearby Champe Rocks are among the most imposing examples. The quartzite is approximately 250 feet thick and is located primarily on exposed ridges as caprock or exposed crags. The rock is composed of fine grains of sand that were laid down approximately 440 million years ago, in an extensive sheet at the edge of ancient ocean. Years of geologic activity followed, as the ocean was slowly destroyed and the underlying rock uplifted and folded. Millions of years of erosion stripped away the overlaying rock and left remnants of the arching folds in formations such as Seneca Rocks.
www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xL...
Fuchsitic quartzite from the Precambrian of Wyoming, USA. (6.8 centimeters across at its widest)
This is a piece of quartzite richly infused with greenish fuchsite (= chromian muscovite mica). It comes from a small abandoned quarry where flaggy rocks were excavated for use as decorative stones (see Harris, 2003, p. 9).
Geologic unit & age: Elmers Rock Greenstone Belt, Archean, 2.54+ Ga.
Locality: small abandoned quarry ~0.5 miles north of Tunnel Road, west of Squaw Mountain & south-southeast of Government Peak, eastern flanks of the Laramie Range, far-eastern Albany County, WSW of the town of Wheatland, southeastern Wyoming, USA (vicinity of 41° 55' 00.40" North latitude, 105° 17' 48.53" West longitude)
------------
Reference cited:
Harris (2003) - Decorative stones of southern Wyoming. Wyoming State Geological Survey Public Information Circular 42.
Head of the colossal quartzite statue of Tutankhamun, usurped by Ai and Horemheb,
discovered in 1933 in the temple of Ai and Horembeb, north of the temple of Ramses III, in Medinet Habou - on the west bank of Luxor.
Indeed, at the early death of the king, successor usurped this statue, then Horemheb made the same reproach to his name, the cartouche of the belt where was originally the name of Tutankhamun ...
Reign of Tutankhamun: 1336-1326 BC
(Egyptian Grand Museum Cairo)
Exhibition TOUTANKHAMON: "THE TREASURE OF PHARAOH"
Great Hall of La Villette
From March 23 to September 15, 2019
Paris
(France)
Tête de la statue colossale en quartzite de Toutânkhamon, usurpée par Aï et Horemheb,
découverte en 1933 dans le temple d'Aï et Horembeb, au nord du temple de Ramsès III, à Médinet Habou - sur la rive ouest de Louqsor.
En effet, à la mort précoce du roi, Aï son successeur usurpa cette statue, puis Horemheb fit de même reprenant à son nom la cartouche de la ceinture où figurait, à l’origine, le nom de Toutânkhamon…
Règne de Toutânkhamon : 1336-1326 av.J-C
(Grand Musée égyptien du Caire)
Exposition TOUTÂNKHAMON : « LE TRÉSOR DU PHARAON »
Grande Halle de La Villette
Du 23 mars au 15 septembre 2019
Paris
(France
NESTLED AT THE FOOT OF MT. ERRIGAL (THE HIGHTEST MOUNTAIN IN COUNTY DONEGAL) AND OVERLOOKING THE BEAUTIFUL POISONED GLEN SITS THE BEAUTIFUL 'OLD CHURCH OF DUNLEWEY'.
JANE SMITH RUSSELL HAD THE CHURCH BUILT AS A MEMORIAL TO HER HUSBAND, JAMES RUSSELL, THE LANDLORD OF THE DUNLEWEY ESTATE, WHO DIED ON 2ND SEPTEMBER 1848. JAMES RUSSELL WAS LAID TO REST IN A VAULT UNDER THE CHURCH FLOOR. THE CHURCH WAS CONSECRATED ON 1ST SEPTEMBER 1853 AS A CHAPEL OF EASE TO TUL-LAGHABEGLEY. TULLAGHABEGLEY WAS THE PARISH CONSISTING OF THE PRESENT DAY GWEEDORE AND CLOUGHANEELY PARISHES.
THE CHURCH IS BUILT OF WHITE MARBLE AND BLUE QUARTZITE WHICH WAS QUARRIED LOCALLY. THE SUPPLY OF MARBLE IN THE NEARBY QUARRY HAS NOW BEEN DEPLETED. THE RED BRICK IN THE ARCHES OF THE WINDOWS WAS PRODUCED LOCALLY.
THIS IS THE GLEN AT THE HEAD OF DUNLEWEY LOCH. THERE ARE MANY THEORIES ABOUT ITS STRANGE NAME IN ENGLISH (POISON GLEN) BUT IT IS MOST LIKELY A MIS-TRANSLATION FROM IRISH.
Quartzite
From Egypt
Reign of Ramesses II (1279-1212 BCE)
San Diego Museum of Art (Museum Purchase with funds from the Helen M. Towle Bequest, 1949.62.1-2)
At a dealer booth in the Quartzite Rock and Gem show this year, this specimen showing clusters of the "sand" crystals, about 8" tall and 12" wide! The previous photo shows another large piece of gypsum with classic "desert rose" clusters. Hard to imagine "sand" looking like this in a hard rock cluster. These specimens are sturdier to the touch than you might think.
Interbedded specularite-quartzite from the Precambrian of Michigan, USA.
Silvery-gray = specularite, composed of specular hematite (micaceous hematite) (Fe2O3)
Dark purplish-gray = quartzite (SiO2)
Banded iron formations, or BIFs, are unusual, dense sedimentary rocks consisting of alternating layers of iron-rich oxides and iron-rich silicates. Most BIFs are Proterozoic in age (although some are Late Archean), and do not form today - they're “extinct”! Many specific varieties of iron formation are known, and some are given special rock names. For example, jaspilite is an attractive reddish & silvery gray banded rock consisting of hematite, red chert (“jasper”), and specular hematite or magnetite.
Because of their age, most BIFs have been around long enough to have been subjected to one or more orogenic (mountain-building) events. As such, most BIFs are folded and/or metamorphosed to varying degrees.
BIFs are known from around the world, but some of the most famous & extensive BIF deposits are found in the vicinity of North America’s Lake Superior Basin. Many BIFs have economic concentrations of iron and are mined. BIFs are the most important variety of iron ore on Earth.
A famous BIF unit is the 1.874 or 2.11 billion year old Negaunee Iron-Formation, which outcrops in the Marquette Iron Range of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP), USA. The Negaunee Fe-Fm. has been metamorphosed to varying degrees and contains many specific lithologies, including jaspilites, taconites, specularites, ferruginous quartzites, ferruginous cherts, and ferruginous slates. The Negaunee Fe-Fm. has economic concentrations of iron and much of the unit in the Marquette Iron Range has been mined away. The best remaining, easily-accessible outcrop is Jasper Knob in the town of Ishpeming, Michigan. Earth’s oldest known macrofossils, Grypania spiralis, occur in this unit.
The specimen seen here is a metamorphosed BIF - the dark purplish gray layers are quartzite, metamorphosed from chert. The silvery-gray layers are specular hematite (micaceous hematite), which has been metamorphosed from "ordinary" rusty red hematite.
Stratigraphy: Negaunee Iron-Formation, Paleoproterozoic, 1.874 or 2.11 Ga
Locality: Republic Mine, western Marquette County, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA
View North to great east wall of Mytikas. Strata of quartzite and limestone. We returned on a route back across this strata.
Harry and I climbed Mt Olympus in Greece from basically sea level in a two-day hike. It was one of the most rewarding walks I have ever done.
We walked from the town of Litochoro through an area mostly used by locals. There is a carpark part way up but we didn't have a car, so walked the whole way. By late afternoon, on the main track, we met a lot of hikers coming down and spoke to a couple of Australians who told us the hut was full with a school group. We decided to keep going and find a plan B. We found a tiny rock overhang not far off the track about 15-30 mins before the hut, just big enough for the two of us. Unfortunately there was a huge thunderstorm overnight and we were a bit worried about being hit by lightning but we survived the night and awoke to a beautiful day. More photos to come.
Quartzite (metaquartzite) (3.9 centimeters across at its widest)
Metamorphic rocks result from intense alteration of any previously existing rocks by heat and/or pressure and/or chemical change. This can happen as a result of regional metamorphism (large-scale tectonic events, such as continental collision or subduction), burial metamorphism (super-deep burial), contact metamorphism (by the heat & chemicals from nearby magma or lava), hydrothermal metamorphism (by superheated groundwater), shear metamorphism (in or near a fault zone), or shock metamorphism (by an impact event). Other categories include thermal metamorphism, kinetic metamorphism, and nuclear metamorphism. Many metamorphic rocks have a foliated texture, but some are crystalline or glassy.
Quartzite is a common, crystalline-textured, intermediate- to high-grade metamorphic rock. It forms by metamorphism of quartzose sandstones or siltstones. Quartzite can be entirely composed of interlocking quartz crystals, or the original sand grains may still be visible. This rock is hard (H = 7), will not bubble in acid (unlike marble), and can be almost any color.
The term “quartzite” has been used in geology to refer to crystalline, quartzose metamorphic rocks and to hard, well-cemented quartzose sandstones that have not been subjected to metamorphism. It is difficult to not call hard, well-cemented sandstones “quartzite” (for example, the Clinch Quartzite in the Appalachian Mountains & the Eureka Quartzite of the Great Basin in western USA). But the Clinch and Eureka aren’t metamorphic rocks. The term metaquartzite has been used by some geologists to refer to crystalline-textured, quartzose rocks that have been metamorphosed. This implies that “quartzite” be restricted to well-cemented, non-metamorphosed sandstones. I don’t often see the term metaquartzite used in the geologic literature.
■ Arquitectura Negra's (Black Architecture's) rural stone house at Campillo de Ranas, a small village in Guadalajara (Castile-La Mancha, Spain) near mount Ocejon. It was built using mainly slate and assorted quartzites.
Taken handheld with my Panasonic Lumix TZ7 (ZS3) in scarce available light in the afternoon ( 185 mm, F4.5, 1/125 sec., ISO 80, EV -2/3 ).
.
■ Casa rural de piedra de estilo Arquitectura Negra en Campillo de Ranas, un pequeño pueblo de Guadalajara al pie del monte Ocejon. Fue construida utilizando principalmente pizarra y cuarcitas diversas.
Tomada a pulso con una Panasonic Lumix TZ7 (ZS3) en escasa luz ambiente al atardecer ( 185 mm, F4.5, 1/125 sec., ISO 80, EV -2/3 ).
Therme Vals, Peter Zumthor's masterpiece in Vals, Switzerland, is made from local quartzite stone and bermed into the slope beneath a hotel that it is connected to.
Water Feature - Natural stone comprised of the following Aqua Grantique, St. Cloud Granite, New York Bluestone, Silver Quartzite, Pink Quartz and Fieldstone
Chilton Natural Stone raised patio wall & steps
Capital & Flint Antique Clay Paver
Custom Designed & Installed Natural Cedar Pergola & Landscape Structure
Landscape & Water Feature Low-voltage Lighting
Landscape design by Glenn! Switzer ~ Landscape located in Northfield, MN
Switzer Honored with Top Landscape Design Award
-----------------------------------------------------------
~~ Patios - Pergolas - Outdoor Living ~~
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Art of Landscape Design - Providing Exceptional Quality & Uniquely Creative Design/Build Landscapes. From Contemporary to Classic… Transforming functional spaces to evoke the feeling of living in fine art.
Please visit our website @ www.SwitzersNursery.com
Find us on...FaceBook
Join our Circle... Google+
Our Wordpress Blog Site... Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping
Water Feature - Natural stone comprised of the following Aqua Grantique, St. Cloud Granite, New York Bluestone, Silver Quartzite, Pink Quartz and Fieldstone
Chilton Natural Stone raised patio wall & steps
Capital & Flint Antique Clay Paver
Custom Designed & Installed Natural Cedar Pergola & Landscape Structure
Landscape & Water Feature Low-voltage Lighting
Landscape design by Glenn! Switzer ~ Landscape located in Northfield, MN
Switzer Honored with Top Landscape Design Award
-----------------------------------------------------------
~~ Patios - Pergolas - Outdoor Living ~~
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Art of Landscape Design - Providing Exceptional Quality & Uniquely Creative Design/Build Landscapes. From Contemporary to Classic… Transforming functional spaces to evoke the feeling of living in fine art.
Please visit our website @ www.SwitzersNursery.com
Find us on...FaceBook
Join our Circle... Google+
Our Wordpress Blog Site... Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping
A natural stone collected from a pebbly beach in Lake County, Illinois along the shore of Lake Michigan. The golden circle is probably an eroded fossil coral or simple an iron bearing inclusion. This stone has been polished smooth by natural wave action.
Thank you for viewing my images.
You can also follow me on:
Facebook www.facebook.com/RobHarrisPhotography/
Instagram www.instagram.com/harristotle_65
From left to right:
An uraeus, made of wood.
Period of New Kingdom, no provenance.
Provv. 5685
A mace head, made of red jasper.
The mace head from the pre-dynastic period tells how the kings of ancient Egypt gained and held power for themselves; they described themselves as beating their enemies with a mace head like this.
Naqada III period, no provenance.
Provv. 671
A false beard, made of quartzite Old Kingdom period, no provenance.
Egypt of Glory – The Last Great Dynasties, Amos Rex - Helsinki 9.10.2020 - 21.3.2021
Collection of Museo Egizio, Turin
One of my astute contacts noticed that I had posted this photo some time ago, then took it down. I hadn't even remembered doing it, but beebeard the great and powerful noticed! I figured if a photo was worth somebody remembering it, I should have left it up.
I can explain to you, however, why I deleted it in the first place – Its photographic feng shui was juxtaposed, and at the same time in perfect alignment, with the nadir of digital cosmogenic energy running through my photostream. I'm sure you can relate.
Thanks bee, for reminding me of its existence.
By the way, there used to be a hotel up here:
Rock climber at Palisades State Park, Garretson South Dakota.
Several tall spires and cliffs of great pink quartzite are scattered across the prairie here just east of Sioux Falls, SD. Great place to climb and learn climbing
These almost vertically tilted strata are the quartzite of the Port Stanley Formation (Devonian). Wikipedia says: "Quartzite is very resistant to chemical weathering and often forms ridges and resistant hilltops. The nearly pure silica content of the rock provides little material for soil; therefore, the quartzite ridges are often bare or covered only with a very thin layer of soil and little (if any) vegetation."
Extensive outcrops of pinkish, Paleoproterozoic-aged quartzites are present at Falls Park along the Big Sioux River in the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The quartzites here have nicely water-worn, sculpted surfaces. These rocks are part of the Sioux Quartzite, which consists of 1.65 to 1.70 billion year old metamorphosed sandstones. Despite the metamorphism, original sedimentary features such as horizontal stratification, cross-bedding, and ripple marks are still preserved.
The Sioux Quartzite is an erosion-resistant unit in America’s midcontinent. It has formed a long-lived paleotopographic high since Precambrian times - the Sioux tectonic core. This high is part of a northeast-to-southwest trending series of paleotopographic highs & depressions known as the Transcontinental Arch, which extends from Arizona to Minnesota (see Carlson, 1999).
Quarries of Sioux Quartzite occur in southeastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. The rocks are used as building stone, road gravel, sidewalk and paving gravel, and erosion control material.
Stratigraphy: Sioux Quartzite, upper Paleoproterozoic, 1.65-1.70 Ga
Locality: Falls Park, near Sioux Falls along the Big Sioux River in the town of Sioux Falls, southeastern South Dakota, USA
------------------
Reference cited:
Carlson (1999) - Transcontinental Arch - a pattern formed by rejuvenation of local features across central North America. Tectonophysics 305: 225-233.