Yosemite Paver Stones by mtdana
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Description
Yosemite Paver Stones
I think you can get an idea of the size of these slabs from the trees – they are enormous! But what caused them to form like paver stoves lining a walkway for a giant I don’t know. This image was taken at the top of Chilnualna Falls trail near Wawona in Yosemite Park. All the stone in the area appear to be the same type - decomposing granite?? I’m guessing it was the freeze thaw cycle that caused these granite slabs to form.
Thank you for viewing, I appreciate the previous comments!
Comments (15)
miwi
Beautiful capture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cyve
Fabulous capture my friend .... very very well done!!!
Valeriya
Beautiful view of nature!
starfire777
Excellent HDR image!!!
Faemike55
Very cool capture
photosynthesis
I've been to Yosemite many times (long ago), but never saw these. A great shot - the combination of unusual POV, intersecting diagonals & HDR create a very dynamic look...
X-PaX
Excellent capture. Very nice HDR.
Jean_C
Fantastic landscape with these enormous rocks, excellent capture!
brewgirlca
Wooweee! These last few shots could convince me to invest in a fisheye lens! I love how you got down low to give what would have been a dramatic shot with any decent wide angle but gets booted up an order of magnitude by the fisheye. Also all that you managed to capture, like the rapids in the lower right all the way up to billowing clouds. You are so masterful at HDR; this is the way it should be for nature shots (IMHO), right at the edge of believability. Now for the science. The rocks are layered, so it is not massive granite but rather granitic sandstone. The initial differential layering of the sandstone set the stage for the weathered cobblestones. The snow indicates an area of freeze thaw and the stream tells me water had a role to play. Freeze thaw would crumble the rocks and the rivers would wash the detritis away. If it was just freeze thaw you would not get the nicely rounded edges. I could use a shot like this to teach a bedrock geology class.
mtdana
Thanks to everyone for all your nice comments! And thanks for the science Roxy - I was hoping someone would step in and explain the geology of the scene – great explanation!
abreojos
Beautiful place and awesome capture. The HDR really looks good!
Chipka
These make me think of pillows. I'm like that. Kinda weird. I love the colors in this shot and the somewhat alien qualities of the geology in this area. I have yet to actually visit Yosemite, but I hope to, at some point. I love the intensity of the colors and the details in this shot and the sense of scale is rather amazing. This is a grabber and an instant favorite.
danapommet
An amazing photo and POV - is it possible that the glaciers could have created these when they ground through the valley?
mtdana
Hi Danapommet Roxy is the expert on this – she called it granitic sandstone and provided the additional info below: +++++++++++++++++++++ Actually I was not quite so thorough on the process. The original rock was granite, formed deep beneath the surface and then pushed up in one of California's many orogenies. Then it was weathered down to a mix of fine and coarse sandstone, that is the granitic sandstone matrix. Then this was again redeposited, probably in a river to give that coarse bedding structure and then once again buried to a depth to cause solidification but not so deep as before. Pushed up and exposed yet again, it is now weathering out to the formations that you see. +++++++++++++++++++++ Thank you for your comment!
Darkwish
I like this one!