Rocks out of placeWhy are these rocks out of place? They just do not fit the environment in which th
Rocks out of placeWhy are these rocks out of place? They just do not fit the environment in which they are. The seawaves that moved the medium to coarse sand that is now the sandstone thatsurrounds these boulders, are not strong enough to move boulders. There is a hugecontrast in mass between the sand and the boulder. So, the only explanation isthey were placed here by some other means. For this reason, such rocks arecalled ‘dropstones’, as they were dropped/placed into their current position,rather than being transported along with the surrounding sediment.One explanation howthis could have happened, is the sea ice. During Permian (~300-250 millionyears ago) this region was under ice age conditions, with glaciers covering thecontinent from land to sea. So, whether it was glaciers sliding into the sea,or sea ice enveloping loose boulders around the coast and moving them off intothe sea; it is impossible to say exactly. But, because ice floats on water, itprovides a good candidate for a mechanism of moving these heavy boulders from theland to the sea bypassing the sea wave transport.Ulladulla,Australia -- source link
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