We saw, in addition to the rocks, a wild goat, an ibex, a pair of ravens circling the area, a few gulls, a cormorant and a bunch of swallows. Other than the pigeons in all the towns, that’s the extent of the wildlife we saw.
The rocks are of interest because of the striking color and because of an unusual type of erosion called Tafoni weathering which occurs when volcanic rock is in contact with salt water. It erodes the rock so that it has an odd, lacy, honeycomb pattern. We saw this process before on the Baja cruise.
Back on the ship, we had an outdoor barbeque lunch as we motored to Arone Plage, an extensive sandy beach with a resort and restaurant. Judy and I opted for the hike. Others kayaked or swam, and some had a bus tour of the area. We bussed through the high village of Piana to a trailhead where we walked with a guided group across the top of a calanque, the red rock formations that jut out into the sea and bracket the steep canyons and the bays. The views and rock were dramatic. The trail had a lot of up and down over rock outcrops. The little village of Piana is picaresque but we only saw it from the bus.
The bus took us back to the beach where the Zodiacs took us back to the ship for dinner.
Scandola Nature Preserve, Corsica. No more limestone for today. These red rocks are rhyolite, a kind of lava usually containing a lot of water and compressed gases that expand after eruption accounting for the holes and pockets in the rock.
A pair of ravens above the cliffs.
The dark rocks are basalt mixed in with the rhyolite.
Bands of red and gray rock offset by a fault. The diagonal line running from the lower left to the upper right is the fault, and the mass of rock above the fault has moved downwards and to the left. Focus on the two stripes of gray and red above and below the fault to see the offset.
This lace-like appearance is due to an unusual type of weathering called Tafoni weathering that causes the rocks to have a honeycomb like feature. That vertical tan rock toward the left of the photos is a vein of new rock squeezed into a gap between the red rocks on either side of it.
An ibex under that tree. They are a wild, mountain goat with impressive horns.
Distant mountains in central Corsica with snow. The highest peak is almost 9000 ft.
Lunch with ship friends.
On our hike the rugged, craggy rock and views were awesome....
This steep canyon is formed between two calanques, land masses that extend into the sea.
The little village of Piana, high up on the mountains. We were pressed for time and didn't get to visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment