Saw Mill at Ramon Crater, Israel
September 22, 2013
Photographer: Menashe Davidson
Summary Author: Menashe Davidson
Shown above is the Saw Mill located inside Ramon Crater, on the north edge of the crater, close by the town of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel. Its name is derived from the similarity of the stones found here, which are shaped like pieces of lumber. The Saw Mill is basically a sandstone hill with thousands and thousands of prism-like rocks scattered haphazardly about it. The stones were created during a volcanic eruption as magma penetrated into sandstone and melted it. The liquid stone then crystallized into long quartzite forms. A number of the rocks are hexagonal in shape. Hexagons are equilateral and can thus fill a space with minimal surface area without leaving holes, such as a honeycomb. The dark color of the rock pieces is a result of iron minerals intrinsic to this sandstone that rusted when exposed to the atmosphere. A boardwalk was constructed to support easy access to the top of the hill and to protect the original nature of this site. Photo taken on February 24, 2010.
Photo Details: Camera: NIKON D80; Focal Length: 70.0mm (35mm equivalent: 105mm); Aperture: f/20.0; Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250); ISO equiv: 800.
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