'The Petrified Forest' II

'The Petrified Forest' II

Alternate title ‘The Lost City’.
Composite images combined in Photoshop.

Sky image:

Volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere (higher than the wavy altocumulus shown here) accentuated the sunset colors seen and was observed globally for 2 to 3 years following the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption. Taken at Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Feb 1992. Nikon F3, Fuji Velvia.

Ground image:

‘The Petrified Forest’, Cape Bridgewater, Victoria, Australia.

There are a number of theories about how this surreal landscape of calcified sediment was formed. One of these is that a forest was smothered by a large sand dune and water seeping down through the sand formed a crust of sandstone on the outside of the tree trunks. This process decayed the organic matter, leaving behind the ‘petrified trunks’.

Another theory says that they are Rhizoconcretions-calcrete structures caused by the filling of hollows in an ancient sand dune system.

The close spacing between them suggests to me that they were not trees – but an ancient petrified forest sounds more romantic and the name has become entrenched over time perpetuating perhaps a myth.

Rollieflex SL66

© Ern Mainka

'The Petrified Forest' II belongs to the following groups:

Complex Simplicity of Art, Digital Art Compilations (No Nudity Allowed) and Eerie Lighting Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters