Rocks of Alabama Mountains in California

Alabama Hills are an array of rock and hills formation located close to the Lone Pine in the west and Sierra Naveda eastern slope in Owens Valley, in California, Inyo County. Alabama hills resulted from cataclysmic earth crust uplifting that took place about 100 million years ago. This was followed by millennia of wind-blown sand, snow, and wind have molded the uncommon rounded formations that currently exist in Alabama Hills. The hills appear like rounded contours and it acts as the tip of an escarpment that is very steep which might have been generated by several earthquakes similar to Lone Pine earthquake that took place in 1872 causing 15-20 feet vertical displacement in a single event (Pakiser, Kane & Jackson, n.d.).

Alabama Hills contains to forms of rock. The oldest rock on the hills is drab orange weathered which is 150 -200 million years. This rock was formed through volcanic method and it is classified as metamorphosed volcanic rock, after going through a number of weathering following exposure to different weather condition since its formation. The second type of rock in Alabama Hills is biotite monzagranite. This is an igneous rock that is grouped as plutonic rock belonging to biotite granite rocks, which are regarded as the last magma fractionation product. It can be black, white, orange, pink or grey. These rocks have been on Alabama Hills for about 82 to 85 million years old after the exposure of biotite monzogranite that weathers to create big potato-shaped rocks. Most of these rocks stand on the end as a result of spheroidal weathering that acts on several joints that are nearly vertical on these rocks (Pakiser, Kane& Jackson, n.d.).

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