Exfoliation (geology) :- Page 1 of 1

Exfoliation (geology) :-

Geological exfoliation of granite at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Texas, USA
Exfoliation in geology is a weathering process, mainly caused by freeze-thaw cycles. In this process,
hard rock such as granite forms plutons (a rising glob of lighter rock (similar in form to those seen in a
lava lamp, but far larger) several kilometers below the surface as magma slowly cools and crystallizes.
The granite is under great pressure due to overlying rock. Then, granite is rapidly uplifted to the surface
during a mountain-building event. During the mountain building process, the overlying rock is stripped
away by erosion as the granite is uplifted. With the overling rock removed, the pressure on the granite is
reduced. The granite expands and fractures. These fractures, called sheet joints, develop parallel to the
exposed surface. The granite subsequently erodes in concentric layers (similar to the way an onion
peels) forming rounded masses called exfoliation domes. Many such domes are found in the Sierra
Nevada range in California, which includes the most famous exfoliation dome in the United States, Half
Dome. Granitic surfaces in this region that have been exfoliated are identified by their lack of glacial
polish.
Sometimes rocks weather by peeling off in sheets rather than eroding grain by grain. Exfoliation is
scientific Latin for that process. It can happen in paper-thin layers on individual boulders, or it can take
place in thick slabs as it does here, in Yosemite Valley, California.
The great white granite domes and cliffs of the High Sierra, like Half Dome, owe their appearance to
this type of exfoliation. These rocks were emplaced as molten bodies, or plutons, deep underground,
raising the Sierra Nevada range. Erosion then unroofed the plutonic rocks and took away the pressure of
the overlying rock. As a result, the solid rock acquired fine cracks through pressure-release jointing. The
combined work of gravity, weathering, plant roots, and the expansion of freezing water opened up the
joints further and loosened these slabs.

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