Nature’s Masterpiece: The ‘Symphony of the Stones’ in Armenia Resembles a Giant Organ

Situated near the Armenian capital, this amazing natural formation looks as if the gods wanted to play music.image

Image credit: Vahag851

23 km east of Yerevan, Armenia, just below the village of the same name, lies the breathtaking Garni Gorge, with cliff walls of well-preserved basalt columns carved out by the Goght River on its sides. This part of the gorge is known as the “Symphony of the Stones,” and it’s easy to see why. The columns suspended against gravity resemble an organ, which explains why the natural monument is also called the “Basalt Organ”. The soundtrack is provided by the river that flows through the gorge and fills the splendor of the stone with the symphony of water.

The organ is made up of enormous symmetrical hexagonal and pentagonal basalt columns (almost 50 meters high), which appear to be handcrafted due to their extraordinary symmetry. These amazing rock formations were formed under high pressure conditions due to the cooling and crystallization of volcanic lava.image

Image credit: @globetolter[IG]

The complex topography of Armenia was shaped by a geological upheaval that pushed up the Earth’s crust to form the Armenian Plateau 25 million years ago. How exactly the columnar jointing was formed is still uncertain, but it is usually explained by analogy with mud-cracks resulting from shrinkage at the surface of dried-up mud. The polygonal cracks in basalt are presumed to be due to contraction during cooling, which acts towards the creation of a series of equally spaced cooling centers. A tension crack is thought to form between two centers and since each center is surrounded by many others, a multi-sided polygonal crack system is formed, splitting the rock into roughly uniform polygonal blocks. As cooling proceeds towards the interior, cracks propagate inward at right angles to the cooling surface, resulting in the distinctive columnar structure.image

Azat River, Garni Valley, Armenia. Image credit: Diego Delso

image

Image credit: Diego Delso

image

Garni Gorge and the “Symphony of the Stones” basalt column formations along the cliff side. Image credit: Diego Delso

image

Image credit: Diego Delso

image

Image credit: Diego Delso

The beautiful symphony of nature.

Related Posts

Why the ‘Eye of the Earth’ Water Lake Will Take Your Breath Away

The deep emerald water lake emerges amidst a beautifully surreal, untouched landscape. Known as The Eye of the Earth, or the Cetina Lake, it is a magnificent natural wonder gifted to Croatia by Mother Nature. This unique body of water is actually the …

Read more

Step into a Pink Sky: The Magic of Japan’s 144-Year-Old Wisteria

These stunning pictures, which look like a glorious late evening sky with dashes of pink and purple, are actually photos of Japan’s largest wisteria (or wistaria, depending on whom you ask) plant. This beautiful plant, located in Ashikaga Flower …

Read more

SS Ayrfield: How a 112-Year-Old Abandoned Ship Became a Stunning Floating Forest

While the SS Ayrfield was once a proud steam cargo ship, even used in World War II, its decaying shipwreck now stands as the famous Floating Forest of Homebush Bay. The Floating Forest is one of Homebush Bay’s signature landmarks. Image credit: Marc …

Read more

Chilling Discovery: The Story Behind Thousands of Rare ‘Ice Eggs’ in Finland

Ice comes in many shapes and sizes, from mountainous icebergs to tiny flurries of snow. But few of us will ever come across a field of football-sized ‘ice eggs’. Nature just loves to keep us guessing. When amateur photographer Risto Mattila went …

Read more

This Artist’s 8-Year Project: The Most Unique Tree Chair You’ll Ever See

Peter Cook and Becky Northey met in 1995, became partners and began shaping trees into living art they call “Pooktre”. Credit: Pooktre.com Instead of cutting trees down to make structures, Peter and Becky believe living trees can be shaped and incorporated …

Read more

Living Time Capsule: 2,000-Year-Old Redwood Boasts Colossal Car-Sized Opening

Dotted around the northern regions of California are a handful of the oldest redwoods and giant sequoias in the world, reaching up to the skies like something out of Tolkien’s universe. These colossal trees can grow to be over 300ft high and 3,000 …

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *