Discover completely new world!
In front of you, the page that will show you the extremely valuable treasure of our planet, interesting, intriguing and delightful with its beauty. We want to show you the beauty of the rock, which seemingly may seem boring and uninteresting, we will prove that the rock, seemingly indestructible and unchanging, can change, transform and evolve over time. We present you hydration caves, unusual morphological forms, formed as a result of chemical changes that take place in the rock. On this site you will not find boring scientific rules, just a simple and pleasant description. Of course, for those interested, we will include references to geological literature, sources of citations and data sets.
Hydration caves are the morphological effect of chemical weathering on the surface of the quarries in Dingwall and several other places in the world. Research conducted in connection with the transition of anhydrite to gypsum on the surface of the quarry floor focuses on many aspects of this process. First of all, it is important to carry out general geological research aimed at lithological profiles, geological cross-sections, running and dipping measurements and rock sampling. Also, an inseparable element of this type of work is to see what the gypsum rock hides inside anhydrite and carrying out petrographic tests. Moreover, as we already know, the effect of anhydrite hydration is the formation of hydration caves and numerous forms of land relief rarely found in the world. Hence, morphology and its analysis using several methods, including photogrammetry, is also important. The morphology of the studied area is related to tectonic issues, because hydration causing an increase in the volume of the rock medium causes stresses and, at the same time, numerous deformations.
The results of the above-mentioned works are included on our website in the form of multiple pages and subpages of a complex text. The description, documentation and morphological, petrological and structural analysis of the weathering zone of gypsum-anhydrite rocks in Dingwall are included here.
In addition, we have included documentation data related to the site in the Harz Mountains and the closed Ukrainian quarry in Pisky.
The maintenance of this website and the presented results of research in Dingwall were financed from the funds of the project entitled “Hydration Caves from the wethering zone in Dingwall, Canada – three-dimensional documentation, characteristics and genesis” as part of the competition named “Diamond Grant ” financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland.
This website, hydrationcaves.com, in accordance with the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 14, 1994, is a multimedia work created and owned by the creators of the website.
Any copying, distribution, duplication, sending of drawings, maps, photos, models, content and other content without the consent of the authors of the website is against the law.
Here you may also discover another wonder of the gypsum weathering zone – gypsum tumuli. Gypsum tumuli are morphological forms known from many places on earth, formed as small domed landforms of relief, with a diameter of several decimeters to several meters and a height exceeding 1 m, formed by detachment of the surface layer of weathering gypsum rocks under semi-arid climate or microclimate conditions.
