However, there is one sector
where the tourism potential has not been tapped. This is the Geological sites
that are available in plenty in India
and Karnataka is fortunate in having four of them. Of them one is right in Bangalore city and
another is near the metropolis. The other two are a little far away.
The first is of course the
famed rock in Lalbagh botanical gardens and the Bugle rock in Basavanagudi.
Both the rock formations are millions of years old and both are of immense
geological value.
But did you know that another
little known wonder of Bangalore
is that it sits atop a rock and this is called gneiss.
Another geological wonder is
the Pyroclastic rocks of Peddapalli near Kolar, which is a little more than 75
kilometers from Bangalore .
The third geological wonder
is the Pillow lava formations in Maradihalli near Chitradurga. The fourth
geological monument of national importance is the Columnar basaltic lava on St.Mary's
Island near Udupi in Arabian Sea .
Since, an earlier post has
already dealt with both the rocks at Lalbagh and Bugle Rock, let us go to the
geological rock formations in Kolar district.
Kolar district adjoins Bangalore district and
from times immemorial it has been known as the land of gold. Kolar and its
surroundings are historically important. It is also the district with a large
number of pilgrim places.
Today, thousands of people
travel through the district on the way to Tirupathi-Tirumala bit few know the
jaw-sagging rocky outcrops that we see when we enter the district is more than
a picture postcard.
The rock formations at
Peddapalli near Kolar have been declared as a natural or geological wonder by
the Geological Survey of India (GSI). But apart from budding geologists and
Earth scientists, few know of the importance of this unique rock formation.
Peddapalli is a small
village about 700 meters east of the
road connecting Kolar Gold Field with the Bangarpet- Betmangala.
There is signboard put up by
the Geological Survey of India (GSI) leading to the rock formation and it can
be best approached by driving towards the southerly diversion near the 10 km
stone for about one kilometer.
The rocky outcrop of
pyroclasts is on the north west
corner of the village. Pyroclastic
Pyroclasts is also called as tepra (It
is a Greek word for ash) and they are nothing but volcanic fragments that was
hurled through the air by volcanic activity that took place here several
millions of years ago.
The explosions could have
been one or many and such rocks would have hardened over a period of several
million years. A pyroclastic rock is a
hardened, solidified or compressed version of an originally loose pyroclastic
deposit that was thrown up in air and fell in a heap on the ground and
subsequently solidified.
The word pyroclastics is
derived from a Greek word meaning fire. This is reference to the red hot lava
that comes out a volcano. Thus the term pyroclastic means broken by fire.
If the volcanic rocks has
been transported and reworked through mechanical action either by wind or
water, they are then called volcaniclastic.
By the way, even ash is
considered to be pyroclast as even it is a form of fine dust made up of volcanic rock.
These pyroclast thrown up by
a volcano vary in size and composition. However, all these ejected material
consolidate to form pyroclastic rocks.
The smaller rocks is known as
lapilli, while bigger sized rocks are called as volcanic bombs or blocks. Some of
the bigger rocks are known to weigh thousands of pounds. Some rock fragments of
granite gneiss found in Peddahali measure upto 80 cm in diameter
The GSI says the Pyroclastic
rocks of Peddapalli is a welded rock of large fragments of granite, granite
gneiss, basalt and banded ferruginous quartzite which is set in a matrix of
ignimbrite. While many rock fragments are angular, some of them are round in
shape.
Check out the natural rock
formation. It will help us understand the history of the Earth where we all
live.
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