November 21, 2016 1:53 pm in kimberlite, Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
This week’s “Monday Geology Picture” is a shot of the Big Hole in Kimberley, South Africa. This hole, now filled partly with water, is the remains of an early diamond mine in a kimberlite (a rock type named after the town of Kimberley) pipe. The pipe was mined from 1871 to 1914 and today can be safely visited and observed (from a walkway) as part of a visit to The Big …
April 25, 2016 9:22 pm in Cape Town, Cape Town geology, folds, Monday Geology Picture by Evelyn Mervine
Over the weekend I participated in a kayak race that was held in the lovely little coastal town Hermanus, South Africa. The race was held on a lagoon with a beautiful background of mountains that are part of the Cape Fold Belt. You’ve seen pictures of this fold belt before here on Georneys. For example, here the belt is featured in one of Callan’s “Friday Fold” posts. However, these mountains …
January 11, 2016 6:59 pm in Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
For this week’s Monday Geology Picture, here are some lovely granitoid beach rocks along the Atlantic Ocean at Langebaan, South Africa. I visited Langebaan again this past weekend with some family. Stay tuned for some pictures from the fossil park near Langebaan!
November 23, 2015 8:24 pm in granite, Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
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 …
November 16, 2015 1:56 pm in Monday Geology Picture, Sand, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
This past Saturday my husband and I went for a long walk along Noordhoek Beach with some friends. The beach is over 8 km long, and we walked about 2/3 of it… and back! As we walked, I enjoyed the beautiful, panoramic views of the mountains on one side and the sea on the other side. In addition, I periodically found myself enjoying the view at my feet (as geologists often …
November 2, 2015 7:52 pm in fossils, Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
For this week’s “Monday Geology Picture” I’m sharing a picture of some bones from a Pleistocene age fossil site located about an hour’s drive from Cape Town, South Africa. I took this picture last year during a visit to the West Coast Fossil Park. If you ever find yourself in the Cape Town area, I highly recommend a visit to the fossil site. You can tour the dig site, and there’s …
April 27, 2015 6:25 pm in carbon, carbon cycle, carbon dioxide, Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
South Africa is currently facing a significant shortage of electricity. Recently, there have been regular periods of “load shedding” or planned power outages. Basically, there is often not enough power to go around, so the power is purposely turned off on a rotating schedule. In the neighborhood where I live and work in Cape Town, the power is regularly turned off for two hours a day or sometimes for four or more …
April 25, 2015 8:40 pm in conglomerate, Cretaceous, rock arches, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
On Monday I shared a picture of a pretty conglomerate that I recently walked across. Today I thought that I would share a few more pictures of this conglomerate formation and also tell you a little more about it. Although in Monday’s picture the conglomerate looks somewhat dull-colored, the conglomerate formation is actually impressively red in color in many places, so much so that hills made of the conglomerate are …
April 20, 2015 6:35 pm in conglomerate, Cretaceous, Monday Geology Picture, South Africa by Evelyn Mervine
A couple of weeks ago I spent part of a weekend staying near Oudtshoorn, South Africa. During a hike, I walked by and, at times, across a beautiful Cretaceous age conglomerate. Here’s one image of the conglomerate, taken when I hiked across it. I’ll share some more pictures in another post.
September 15, 2014 6:48 pm in Cape Town geology, Ceres, cross-bedding, Monday Geology Picture, sandstone, sedimentary geology by Evelyn Mervine
Soon, I’ll continue with sharing more pictures from my geological wanderings in Mauritius earlier this year. However, for this week’s “Monday Geology Picture” I want to share some pictures from my recent visit to the little town of Ceres in the Western Cape of South Africa. Last Friday, I went to Ceres for the day with my husband and two friends visiting from America. Ceres is about an hour and a …
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