Andezitove kamenne more Mala Lehota EarthCache
Andezitove kamenne more Mala Lehota
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Location
National natural monument Andesite sea of rock was declared in 1975. It has an area of 1.4 ha and is located in cadastral area of village Malá Lehota, county Žarnovica, in the mountains Tribeč.
Andesite stone sea in Malá Lehota (Peter Končal, 2011)
Formation of stone sea
Formation of stone seas depends mainly on the type of rock, angle of the slope and geological conditions. The most common, they were created by frost weathering (gelivation) during quaternary period, but they are also creating nowaday, but slower. Fragment released by frost weathering are characterized by sharp edges.
Less often, they were created by subsurfaced cheminal weathering followed by erosion of soft weathering products. This way were formed stone seas in the form of a group perfectly rounded boulders.
Exceptionally, some sudden catastrophic events could participate in the formation of the stone sea - for example significant rocks collapse or earthquakes. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
Stone sea in winter
Andesite stone sea in Malá Lehota were created probably in quaternary period. Andesites originated from magma, that had alkaline base. It is not clear, particles of quartz were blended and surface of the stones shimmering in the sun. During the massive volcanic activity, lava flow solidified and different form of rocks were created. At that time, the temperature was around minus 60 degrees of Celsius, so the solidification of lava was relatively fast. Conditions during lava cooling led to the formation of the internal structure in solidified lava flow, which resulted in disintegration into irregular polygonal blocks. The formerly extensive underground of pyroxenic andesite is now preserved one of the smallest stone sea in Slovakia with area of approximately 30 x 100 m. Although it does not seem, each stone weighs about half a ton.
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- How many years ago was formed lava flow from which this stone sea was created?
- By the shape of stones determine the way how this stone sea was formed.
- What is the altitude near the information board (check waypoint if necessary)?
- Write at least one more place where is located stone sea in Slovakia.
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