November 23, 2015

Monday Geology Picture(s): Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa

Posted by Evelyn Mervine

Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa.

Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa.

Just down the road from where I live there is a fantastic place to observe gigantic granite boulders: Boulders Beach in Simonstown. Actually, you can see granite boulders on many beaches in the greater Cape Town area. These granites are part of the regional Cape Granite Suite and are roughly 550 million years old. However, Boulders Beach is special because it has a particularly good collection of large boulders… and it is also home to a penguin colony! Penguins and geology is a great combination for sightseeing!

Here’s a close-up of the picture above, showing the penguins:

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Penguins atop the granite.

And here’s another view of the spectacular granite boulders:

A field of granite boulders.

A field of granite boulders on the beach.