Encore - Devil's Postpile Tile Pattern
October 22, 2016
Today, and every Saturday Earth Science Picture of the Day invites you to rediscover favorites from the past. Saturday posts feature an EPOD that was chosen by viewers like you in our monthly Viewers' Choice polls. Join us as we look back at these intriguing and captivating images.
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Photographer: Nel Graham
Summary Author: Nel Graham
A short hike to the top of the Devil's Postpile on Mammoth Mountain, in the Sierra Nevada of California, reveals the tile-like pattern shown above. Slow cooling of basalt, from the top down, is responsible for these nearly 120 degree shrinkage cracks. The top of the posts were scoured by glaciers during the last glaciation. Visible on the tiles faces are glacial striations, which show the direction of motion of the glacier. A water bottle was placed for scale purposes. Photo taken in July 2008.
Photo Details: Camera Maker: Panasonic; Camera Model: DMC-TZ4; Focal Length: 4.7mm (35mm equivalent: 28mm); Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320); ISO equiv: 100.