I had no idea what the extraction process at a marble quarry was like and certainly didn’t imagine it was like this. Watch Il Capo aka The Chief, guide his men using a silent language of gesture and sign as they extract gigantic slabs of marble. Italian artist and filmmaker Yuri Ancarani captures the…
Photograph by Christoph Praxmarer About 90 km south of Paris you will find Fontainebleau, described as one of the best bouldering areas in Europe. According to Climb Europe, many of the sandstone rocks are found in the forests surrounding Fontainebleau, making for a magical and unique setting. The most famous boulder in the area…
Andreas Kunert and Naomi Zettl are the husband and wife duo behind Ancient Art of Stone. Together the two artists create some of the most beautiful and intricate stone walls you will ever see. Andreas has been working professionally with stone for over two decades and his passion was first ignited when his family…
Seen here is a 773 gram polished Chinga meteorite. The quarter-cut specimen was found in Turvinskaya, Russia and has been cut and polished on two sides. The rest of the meteorite retains its natural light brown crust, creating a dramatic contrast. This particular specimen, which was offered by Arizona Skies Meteorites has been sold,…
Photograph via THE ARKENSTONE/IROCKS.COM Rob Lavinsky of The Arkenstone (www.irocks.com) brought this fascinating mineral to market, selling it to a buyer for $5,000. The specimen, which Lavinsky describes as Chalcedony on Chrysocolla stalactites (pocket), measures 9 x 7 x 6 cm. It was originally obtained by Frank Valenzuela back in the 1960s from the…
SPLIT APPLE ROCK Photograph by Rosino on Flickr Split Apple Rock is a geological rock formation in The Tasman Bay off the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The rock, made of granite, looks like an apple split in half. The popular tourist attraction is located in the Tasman…
A NATURAL VIEWFINDER Photograph by John Fowler | lumenetic.com At the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah you will find this impressive alcove at the end of the Jacob Hamblin Arch in Coyote Gulch. While you can experience Coyote Gulch as a day-hike, many choose to spend 2-4 nights backpacking…
MESKENDIR VALLEY, CAPPADOCIA Photograph by Benh Lieu Song In this breathtaking photograph by Benh Lieu Song we see an aerial view of the Meskendir valley (and Gorëme in the far back part), in Cappadocia, central Turkey, where hot air balloon tours and trekking are quite popular. Cappadocia lies in eastern Anatolia, in…
WORLD’S LARGEST STONE BUDDHA Photograph by Ariel Steiner The Leshan Giant Buddha was built during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD). It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near…