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.

Getting to Heaven

Getting to heaven is something that many people are interested in, fortunately Orlando Bloom’s character in The Kingdom of Heaven agrees with them. Our good luck is further exemplified by the fact that there are many different types of beautiful scenery and interesting geological processes clearly visible along the way. I chose to write my blog about the places seen in The Kingdom of Heaven. I also want to make it clear that repeated exposure to Mr. Bloom and an array of siege engines, as well as other exquisitely rendered crusade-age war technology, is just a bonus. My name is Sean Robert Donald Slocum and I am the only one fortunate enough to be writing this blog. To clarify, I chose to examine the geological aspects of the backdrops in The Kingdom of Heaven because of the varied landscapes as well as the high resolution of the dvd.

                     I wish that was my helmet ^