Dike and Hoodoos Along the Upper Missouri River in Montana

January 15, 2014

MontanaMissouriRuins_02 (3)

January 2014 Viewer's ChoicePhotographer: Kathleen Kiefer
Summary Author: Kathleen Kiefer

The photo above was snapped while paddling the Wild and Scenic Upper Missouri River in west-central Montana. At center is a remnant of an igneous dike -- a formerly subterranean crack that filled in with magma. Note that this dike makes a path to the draw below. Hot magma was flowing here, forced upwards from deep within the Earth, some 55 million years ago, at a time when this area was covered by thousands of feet of overlaying rock layers. Eroded sandstone pedestals on the left side of the large, rectangular rock formation, at right center, are known as hoodoos. Yucca plants are in the foreground. Photo taken on September 27, 2013.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III; Lens: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM; Focal Length: 28mm; Focus Distance: 3.39m; Aperture: f/10.0; Exposure Time: 0.0050 s (1/200); ISO equiv: 100; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Windows.

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