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Description

This is Salt Point State Park, up highway 1 on the Sonoma Coast. Head off 101 just north of Santa Rosa, heading for a town called Jenner out at the mouth of the Russian River. Salt Point is a couple miles up the coast to the north. They have all this pocket-eroded sandstone called Tafoni, which is curiously similar looking to the stuff I painted at Mammoth Lakes and in Death Valley despite it being by the ocean and in a totally different environment. The gmen straight up say on the state parks page that they have no idea how it formed or why. The in-detail description of what’s going on really highlights some big gaps we have in the understanding of geologic science and just how far we’ve got to go to come up with any kind of plausible explanation of how it all works. So children, become geologists when you grow up. Lotsa discoveries still to be made in that field. I’m going to pop in my 2 cents worth that isn’t mentioned in the document: Sulfides. Sulfides will react with H2O over time and show classic surface pitting. Could be a similar kind of volatile anion in compound in the rock. The salt provides a more electrically favorable environment for this reaction to happen in. The sulfides form in pockets like crystals. Seawater is also full of both sulfate and sulfate reducing bacteria. Sulfides are semiconductors. It’s the same principle as an LED . Tafoni look to me like a chemical process more than a purely physical one. Anyways. Have 2 cents. With a a battery and a wire & some salt water you can plate a paper clip in copper.
Or you can be Xander and not . Because he always ruins his science experiments.

Description

This is Salt Point State Park, up highway 1 on the Sonoma Coast. Head off 101 just north of Santa Rosa, heading for a town called Jenner out at the mouth of the Russian River. Salt Point is a couple miles up the coast to the north. They have all this pocket-eroded sandstone called Tafoni, which is curiously similar looking to the stuff I painted at Mammoth Lakes and in Death Valley despite it being by the ocean and in a totally different environment. The gmen straight up say on the state parks page that they have no idea how it formed or why. The in-detail description of what’s going on really highlights some big gaps we have in the understanding of geologic science and just how far we’ve got to go to come up with any kind of plausible explanation of how it all works. So children, become geologists when you grow up. Lotsa discoveries still to be made in that field. I’m going to pop in my 2 cents worth that isn’t mentioned in the document: Sulfides. Sulfides will react with H2O over time and show classic surface pitting. Could be a similar kind of volatile anion in compound in the rock. The salt provides a more electrically favorable environment for this reaction to happen in. The sulfides form in pockets like crystals. Seawater is also full of both sulfate and sulfate reducing bacteria. Sulfides are semiconductors. It’s the same principle as an LED . Tafoni look to me like a chemical process more than a purely physical one. Anyways. Have 2 cents. With a a battery and a wire & some salt water you can plate a paper clip in copper.
Or you can be Xander and not . Because he always ruins his science experiments.