#Monzogranite
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cfelax.bsky.social
In Palm Springs for a work retreat this weekend. Had to drive through Joshua Tree National Park and take in the desert vibes. #JoshuaTree #PalmSprings #Monzogranite #Desert #Cacti
October 22, 2026 at 1:56 AM
quartzmedia.bsky.social
ICYMI: Not all national parks let you climb whenever you want #NationalParks #RockClimbing
Not all national parks let you climb whenever you want
From El Capitan's 3,000-foot granite face to Joshua Tree's coarse desert monzogranite, America's national parks hold some of the most iconic climbing terrain on earth — but permits, seasonal closures, and nesting falcons decide whether you actually get on the rock. Here's how 10 climbing parks stack up by rock type, season, and what it takes to legally get there.
dlvr.it
October 16, 2026 at 2:06 PM
quartzmedia.bsky.social
Not all national parks let you climb whenever you want #NationalParks #RockClimbing
Not all national parks let you climb whenever you want
From El Capitan's 3,000-foot granite face to Joshua Tree's coarse desert monzogranite, America's national parks hold some of the most iconic climbing terrain on earth — but permits, seasonal closures, and nesting falcons decide whether you actually get on the rock. Here's how 10 climbing parks stack up by rock type, season, and what it takes to legally get there.
dlvr.it
October 15, 2026 at 2:05 PM
eephustosser.bsky.social
Scenes from the Owens Valley.
A closeup of a monzogranite boulder, with a prominent joint dominating the front. A bright green plant shoots out from between a bunch of basaltic rocks. Closeup of cracked, peeling yellow paint on rusted metal. A rundown motel sign. "Motel" in scratchy red paint, to the side of a completely busted sign that seems to say "Rustic Motel." Truer words were never spoken.
September 13, 2026 at 5:09 PM
timeline-cleanse.bsky.social
By: wallace Henry

https://unsplash.com/photos/milky-way-over-rocky-desert-landscape-UpLfFooUlqU

🌎 Joshua Tree, CA, USA

#nightSky #galaxy #stars #milkyWay #adventure #wallpapers #backgrounds #astronomy #darkSky #desertLandscape #nationalPark #travelDestination #wilderness #joshuaTree
Milky Way over granite boulders, Joshua Tree Description The Milky Way core arcing over a monzogranite ridge in the high desert near Yucca Valley, California. Shot during a break in monsoon-season cloud cover, with faint town light glow along the horizon.
September 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
brandontbishop.bsky.social
Martinez and her coauthors focused on Chile's Caldera Basin.

The Miocene to Pliocene (in orange) rocks of the Bahia Inglesa Formation contain 2 previously discovered bonebeds: Cerro Ballena and Mina Fosforita.

Martinez's goal was to understand the age and depositional environment of the sites.
Geologic map from Martinez et al. 2025 showing the northern part of Chile's coastal Caldera Basin. Rocks are colored according to their age and type. From oldest to youngest, there is the light green Jurassic age Caldera Gabbro, the light teal Jurassic age Morro Copiapo Granodiorite, the dark teal Jurassic age Puerto Viejo Monzogranite (all of these are very old volcanic rocks), the orange late Miocene to Pliocene Bahia Inglesa Formation, the peach-colored late Pleistocene Estratos de Agua Amarga formation, and a series of post-Pleistocene alluvial ("water moved") and eolian ("wind blown") sediments in yellows, browns, and white. Martinez et al. focus on the marine mammal fossils found in the orange Miocene-Pliocene age Bahia Inglesa Formation.
May 12, 2025 at 4:36 PM
radiantshrub.northsky.social
“Assemblage (Bright Blessing)”, 22 December 2025
Cholla cactus, Joshua Tree National Park Black and white photo of an approximately one meter tall, fuzzy cholla cactus backlit by a bright, overcast sky. I took this photo sitting down, to capture the “treeness” of the cholla. Desiccated wood and grasses appear in the foreground. Tamarisk and monzogranite rock formations appear in the background. Title: “Assemblage (Bright Blessing)”, 22 December 2025
December 23, 2025 at 3:57 PM
chrisbertolet.bsky.social
One clear head reporting for duty
A huge monzogranite pile eroded into Seussian shapes in Joshua Tree National Park
April 20, 2026 at 11:55 AM
beatrix.bsky.social
also: “monzogranite”? the geologists must be stopped.
March 3, 2026 at 2:37 AM
beatrix.bsky.social
Oh you’re a fan of igneous rock? Name five of your favorite bands
picture of some monzogranite from Joshua Tree, with a thick white band running through it
March 3, 2026 at 2:29 AM
neckties-of-noir.bsky.social
#filmsky #moviesky #TCM #thechargeofthelightbrigade

Filmed to depict India (and Crimea),
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE (1936) was filmed in the Eastern Sierra of California, Alabama Hills.
A still from the film, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE 1936. It shows over 100 British troops on horseback riding through the Alabama Hills of California. A unique landscape of Monzogranite. The tall Eastern Sierra is in the background.
July 12, 2026 at 12:29 PM
neckties-of-noir.bsky.social
#filmsky #moviesky #filmlocations

GUNGA DIN (1939) was filmed in the Alabama Hills, the unique 18,700+ acres of 100 million-yr-old monzogranite, in the Eastern Sierra, Calif.

More than 400 films (mostly Westerns), were filmed in the Hills but this is its only tribute.
Plaque detail in comments.
April 14, 2026 at 11:43 AM
thechrispaduan.bsky.social
Enbreathiating the moment this morning.
Snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains with tumbled monzogranite boulders and bushes in the foreground.
March 14, 2026 at 6:33 PM
tuanale.bsky.social
Some rain in recent days and I'll be heading out to the desert soon. Reminds me of another time when a thunderstorm swept through Joshua Tree NP and put up quite a show for hours.
#landscapephotography
Nighttime scene within a large field of monzogranite rocks, with clouds overhead, both illuminated by bolts of lightning.
March 7, 2025 at 4:11 AM
calamitaman.bsky.social
Yes, this is also documented in the area. In the 'not-deformed' granite there are mafic enclaves in monzogranite.... and there are also late mafic dikes that 'digest' some of the granite when it was still a crystal mush, so it is also possible! Thank you for your comment! 😀
March 28, 2025 at 12:18 PM
calamitaman.bsky.social
The contact between #granite and host rock in my thin section! 😍

Lower-left: monzogranite,
Center to upper-right: pelitic hornfels (derived from a marl).

The mineralogy of the metapelite is biotite + plagioclase + Ca-amphibole + quartz

⚒️
FOV 3 mm
#geology #thinsection #petrography
Contact between granite (lower-left) and host rock (upper right) as seen under the micriscope. Width of image: 3 mm
March 12, 2025 at 8:55 AM
calamitaman.bsky.social
Tremolite-talc calcsilicate rock produced by metasomatism of ophicarbonate rocks (carbonated serpentinites) from a nearby monzogranite intrusion.

CPL | FOV 3 mm
Lacona, Elba, Italy

⚒️🔬🧪
#geology #thinsection #petrography #microscope
Tremolite-talc skarn, a type of metamorphic rock, seen under the petrographic microscope (width of view: 3 mm)
November 11, 2024 at 3:00 PM
calamitaman.bsky.social
How to make happy structural geologists and metamorphic petrologists alike! Folds covered with garnets!

Marbles, 5 meters away from the contact with the Monte Capanne monzogranite, Elba.

⚒️
March 25, 2024 at 12:53 PM
calamitaman.bsky.social
Love granites. Best place to look for shear zones and some heterogeneous deformation!

⛏ Porto Azzurro monzogranite, Elba, Italy

*there is a very nice paper describing this outcrop, which I warmly recommend!

Smith et al. (2011)
doi.org/10.1130/B302...
October 18, 2023 at 7:26 AM
calamitaman.bsky.social
Olivine overgrowing contact metamorphosed serpentine in the contact aureole of an Elban monzogranite.

It's the circle of life.
*noises of minerals approaching the cliff to see the olivine newborn*

🔬
[1] CPL | NX
[2] PPL | N//
⇔ 3 mm
October 17, 2023 at 6:59 AM
benttinen.bsky.social
What I believe to be a xenolith in the monzogranite of Joshua Tree National Park. Anyone know what it might be? #geology #geologist
A round grey xenolith in monzogranite.
November 27, 2024 at 5:15 PM
celticdragon1.bsky.social
Probably outcrops of the Queen Mtn monzogranite pluton. Really great igneous geology area.
February 29, 2024 at 5:56 AM
justslm.bsky.social
Last weekend in Joshua Tree with wildernesstravelcourse.org
Boulders and desert shrubs touched by early morning light Weathered monzogranite formation, looking a bit like a walnut Moonlit boulders under a partly cloudy sky Summit 4377, which we are about to lead our students up
February 12, 2025 at 6:41 AM
hannawacker.bsky.social
A rock castle, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA. 26 February 2014.
Typical Characteristics of Joshua Tree Monzogranite Formations Physical Structure: These rock castles typically rise 10-30 meters above the desert floor, with rounded, bulbous shapes formed by exfoliation weathering. The granite has a coarse-grained texture with visible crystals of quartz, feldspar, and mica that create a speckled appearance. Surface Texture: The rock surfaces feel rough and granular to touch, with deep vertical cracks and horizontal sheeting joints. Weathered areas feel smoother, almost polished, where wind-blown sand has abraded the surface over millennia. Color Palette: Typically pale pinkish-gray to tan, with darker mineral flecks creating contrast. Lichen growth adds patches of orange, gray, or white depending on moisture exposure. Geological Context: These formations are erosional remnants—harder rock that resisted weathering while surrounding material eroded away. They represent ancient magma chambers cooled 70-85 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period.
April 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
munkiman.bsky.social
31 yrs ago, on Halloween, October 31, 1994, the California Desert Protection Act elevated Joshua Tree National Monument to park status.

It can be a little spooky at night, but it's mostly magical... A great place to scan the skies for UFOs while communing with the twinkling stars.

(more: alt text)
Skull Rock The California Desert Protection Act - Title IV: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Withdraws all Federal lands within the Park from the same forms of appropriation or entry under public land, mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing laws as are applicable to lands within Death Valley National Park. The bill also added 234,000 acres. The new park boundary follows natural features and includes complete ecological units such as entire mountain ranges. Previous boundaries divided these ranges along survey lines. The additions provide better resource protection with easier boundary identification and monitoring and important habitat for desert bighorn sheep. Elevations in the park range from a low of 536 feet to a high of 5,814 feet at Quail Mountain. Joshua Tree's rocks are mostly massive, rounded boulders of monzogranite, formed from magma that cooled deep underground, and then weathered over millions of years into the distinctive shapes seen today. The rocks are primarily monzogranite, a type of intrusive igneous rock that was once molten magma. It cooled and solidified slowly beneath the Earth's surface about 75 million years ago. A system of vertical and horizontal fractures, or joints, developed in the monzogranite as overlying rock was eroded away. These joints helped create the rectangular blocks seen in many formations. Groundwater seeping into these fractures slowly transformed the hard mineral grains into soft clay. This process, along with the loosening of grains, causes the rocks to weather from the outside in, rounding the corners and eventually breaking them into separate boulders. At night it can be a little scary to go climbing around on distinctive otherworldly monzogranite rock formations, which create a moonlit playground of surreal spheroidal shapes unlike any other place on Earth. The boulder-mantled grus-lined slopes sometimes resemble what a different planet might look like, which is one reason that Joshua Tree National Park feels so alien. At night, sometimes you can see the silhouetted Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) against the night sky. The got their name given to them by 19th-century Mormon settlers who thought the trees resembled the biblical Joshua, his arms lifted toward the heavens.
October 31, 2025 at 11:22 PM