15 July 2011

Pohangina river at Piripiri


The cliffs along the Pohangina river are formed from soft mudstone — millennia of sediment turning to rock but not quite there yet. Meanwhile, the river wears it down. Most of the riverbed, on the other hand, comprises hard, metamorphic boulders and gravel, tumbled down from the Ruahine range. The power and complexity of geological processes never fails to astonish me.


[9 February 2011, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 80 mm, ISO 200, 1/50 at f16]

All content © 2011 Pete McGregor

6 comments:

leoniewise said...

They remind me of cloud formations. Well, in this photograph at least.

I think I'd like to just sit. There.

Barbara Butler McCoy said...

This is just stunning. I get such a sense of movement from these ROCKS. The ones in a tumble in the water look like some sort of beings coming to the surface, and the cliff face still seems to be shifting. Love your black and white work!

Zhoen said...

Liminal eons, for rocks.

pohanginapete said...

Leonie, it's a great place to sit. Need the sandfly repellent, though.

Barbara — thanks! :^)

Zhoen, change is constant.

Avus said...

Brings to mind a verse from Tennyson's "In Memoriam":

"The hills are shadows, and they flow
From form to form, and nothing stands;
They melt like mist, the solid lands,
Like clouds they shape themselves and go."

pohanginapete said...

A very apt quotation, Avus. Thanks!