Of Heaven and Earth

In this picture we see protrusions of light colored felsic rocks, most likely a more resistant type of intrusive rock that formed during a volcanic event. As it seems to form many separate upright structures I would have to guess that they were dikes that formed when magma broke through and filled vertical faults in the original rock. The implied faulting and generally mountainous terrain we can see here also indicates past tectonic activity.

Here we can see an arid valley landscape where the resistant and protective top layer, probably a large extrusive basalt flow, has been eroded away exposing much weaker rock layers below, probably sedimentary in nature. More layers of resistant rock occurring at fairly regular intervals indicating repeated volcanic activity in the area.

In the third picture we can see a village that sprung up around a large plug of erosion resistant rock, which could be a pluton or a volcanic neck, but the lack of steep sides and vertical forms leads me to lean towards a pluton, which fits in well with the other evidence of up lift and volcanic activity in the area.

In the last picture we can see a line that strikes across the mountain side. It could be the transition from surrounding rock to a pluton but from the extremely strait edge I would have to guess that it was a fault. With all of this stunningly beautiful evidence of active geology it would be a hard choice between sitting in wonder and running for your life.