Comments on: Strange Shaped Stones on Kuril Islands

By: Rob Wallace

Rob Wallace — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:37:53 +0000

Cool. Digital Rocks!~

By: marcos

marcos — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:27:29 +0000

Awesome formation, my first impression is that it reminds me of Devil’s Postpile in Mammoth, California
http://www.nps.gov/depo/index.htm

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:09 +0000

The “Rock Formation” In Ireland is in the photo shown with the people known as the Giants Causeway outside Portrush, Co, Antrim.

I live there. Amazing place when i first saw it.

The Giant Referred to was Finn McCool

By: Tj

Tj — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:10:54 +0000

These are basalt columns. They form during the cooling of the stone. They can be found all over the world and form when there is a large lava flow that has the right cooling conditions. The rock shrinks while cooling and has to crack as it no longer takes up all the space it has filled. You may have heard that the hexagon is natures strongest shape. Well its more or less true. These formations tend to crack into hexagons, but depending on the conditions (cooling speed, make up of the lava, homogeneity of the lava, etc.) can be much less uniform and other shapes. In some places, when you get mud feet thick, you find similar patterns developing in the mud cracks (though because it has to actually expel water and thus dries from top to bottom rather than all at once like the basalt, the pattern is rarely observed, and never so deep. It can be recreated in the lab though.)

By: Grigor

Grigor — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:21:08 +0000

The picture with the people seems to be of The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. It is clearly basaltic.

The one below it may be from the West Coast of Scotland…

By: Swad

Swad — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:29:44 +0000

Stumbled!

There are stones like this on the east coast of
Ireland and the west coast of Scotland, known as the “giants causeway” legend has it they were an ancient bridge used by a giant. This is also proof of Scotland and Ireland being connected at one point in time

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:14:59 +0000

this is basalt the core of an ancient volcano

By: frank

frank — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:40:27 +0000

wow that is pretty neat.. I can’t believe that it is natural. It’s a really cool design