What is a boulder? Is this material of natural or artificial origin? What does it look like, where is it used? In this article you will find answers to all these questions. In addition, here we will talk about one of the most unusual objects of the Belarusian capital.
What is a boulder?
Various exogenous forces: wind, water, air, glaciers constantly “work” on the appearance of the earth’s surface. As a result of all these influences, the whole masses of rocks are gradually destroyed, forming clastic material of various sizes and characteristics - pebbles, gravel, crushed stone, sand, gravel and others. A boulder is one of the varieties of clastic rocks. It will be discussed in our article.
What is a boulder? This is a fairly well-rounded block of rock, the diameter of which (along the long axis) exceeds 256 millimeters. The shape of the boulder is usually round, or close to that. The rounding of these stone blocks can be associated with corrosion, water or glacial erosion.
Boulder stones differ from each other in shape, size and color. It all depends on what kind of rock they are made of, what were the conditions for their direct formation. Most often, quartz, sandstone and granite boulders are found in nature.
The main types of boulders
Based on the genesis (origin), all boulders are divided into several types.
- Alluvial - rock fragments formed by permanent natural watercourses.
- Proluvial - stone deposits that accumulate at the foot of mountain ranges as a result of washing off weathering products from the slopes.
- Colluvial - boulders and boulders formed as a result of landslides or mountain screes.
- Erratic - rock fragments carried away by the glacier at considerable distances from the place of their "geological homeland". This is the most common group of boulders. In large numbers, they can be found in Scotland, Canada, Poland, Latvia, and Altai.
The largest boulder in the world is located in the Mojave Desert (USA). The height of this solid stone giant is about 15 meters. The place where the stone lies has long been considered mystical. Many outstanding personalities have been here more than once, in particular, the famous inventor Nikola Tesla.
Boulders in our time are widely used in the construction of residential buildings, river dams and foundations, for the decoration of walls and pools. They are indispensable for strengthening earthen slopes and embankments. A natural boulder is a landscape designer’s best friend! With it, you can equip a beautiful "alpine slide" in the garden, or cover an unsightly sewer manhole.
