As a result, the solidifying rock shrinks, causing cracks to form in the surface. As the lava cools and crystalizes into rock, the atoms in the lava become more organized and take up less space than when the lava was a hot liquid. Credit: Ryan HollisterĬolumnar jointing happens as a result of stagnant pools of lava cooling slowly. Below are several clues left behind by the flow at the Columns of the Giants.
Lava flows leave behind many clues that help geologists understand how they flowed out of the volcano, as well as how quickly they cooled.
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How can two places more than 4,000 miles apart, and with such different tectonic settings, have such similar landforms? To answer that question, let’s take a virtual field trip to the Columns of the Giants-the geologic formation pictured in the second photo, and located in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains. In this resource, you will learn how to decipher some of the physical processes that shaped the land structure, or “geomorphology,” of parts of California, which will help you better understand how Iceland’s distinct landscape might have also formed. Much of California’s coast grinds laterally along the San Andreas Fault, which is responsible for the frequent earthquakes that the region is known for. Both locales have fascinating tectonic underpinnings: Iceland straddles a divergent plate boundary and sits atop a hot spot giving rise to many volcanoes. The one on the left was taken in Iceland, and the one on the right in California.
Columns of the Giants in California by Ryan Hollister (right). Mount Reynisfjall in Iceland from Shutterstock (left).
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