John Steiner at Journeys with Johnbo blog invites us to post a photo we’ve taken with a mobile device such as an cellphone, tablet, dashcam, etc. and share it on Cellpic Sunday.
This is the Great Dike at the foot of the Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado. The dikes are in the vicinity of Trinidad, Walsenburg, La Veta, and Cuchara. I had been in Cuchara at the wedding of friends, and I was on my way home. I took this picture on September 3, 2017 at 7:30 a.m. This view is the east side. I like the morning shadows on the ground and the way the sunlight accentuates the dike. There are other dikes in the area that aren’t as large and tall as this one.
This is a description of the dikes from the website Spanish Peaks Country. Click on the link to read more.
These vertical granite formations were formed by molten rock several thousand feet underground, below and among many layers of sedimentary rock. Over time, the ground rose and the softer rock eroded away, exposing these igneous intrusions.
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
writing through history one romance upon a time
You know, I don’t know much about the reason the dikes developed other than from molten rock cooling at weak spots on the surface. The dikes are located along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado, so tectonic movement certainly could have played a part in their appearance.
Wow, a great formation, would that be the result of tectonic plate movement?