About those black cliffs. I first noticed them in December of 2016. The cliff is on the west side of the southern tip of Upper Campbell Lake, noticeable from the Elk Portal on the east bank, but from the highway under the cliff, except for one vantage point, it's hidden behind the trees.
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| The rock face, 2016. |
This week I drove to that one spot at the foot of the cliff where it is visible through the trees to see if I could get a better view.
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| Not much has changed in the 6 years. |
I wondered what had painted the rock. Was it part of the rock itself? I asked a geologist, who suggested it might be lichen. Some lichens are black when they're wet; this rock face is black whatever the weather has been.
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| A closer view. |
It almost looks like something was drizzled down from above. But what?
Me pregunto que es lo que ha pintado la roca. Le pregunté a una geologa hace 6 años; ella sugerió que tal vez podría ser un liquen. Hay líquenes que son negros cuando están mojados, cafés en tiempo de sequía; estas rocas se mantienen negras sea cual sea el clima.
Algunas piedras caídas de los acantilados del lado occidental del lago están bañados de una capa negra brillosa, parte de la roca misma. ¿Será esto, entonces, pura roca?
Hasta parece que algo se goteaba desde arriba. Pero ¿qué?
No hay camino, ni un pequeño sendero que llega al pie del peñasco, ni tampoco hasta la cima. Y en estos dias, ya no me siento capaz de romper camino entre los bosques, así que me quedo todavía con la pregunta sin contestar.
¿Qué piensas?
"curiouser and curiouser," said Alice...
ReplyDeleteJust a theory: the black sections are thin layers of organic material that have built up over time, like lichens and mosses. Older sections are blacker. The drip-like patterns are where moisture and dripping water facilitates growing mosses. Unblack sections are either newly exposed parts of the rock face, or where rock is drier due to it being more exposed.
ReplyDeleteAlternative theory: it is evidence of a historic gory battle between the rock-monsters as described in the Hobbit (yes, I watched the movie recently)
I like your alternative theory!
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards lichens. But I really need to get to the base of the cliff and see if I can collect fallen scree.