To start to understand why these patterns occur in the rocks at Garrettstown Strand in County Cork, Ireland, it is helpful to think about the natural patterns made by wave-generated sand ripples. This applies to the surface designs and also the internal layering or stratification that occurs within sand ripples. The way the rocks here are composed of petrified sand ripples goes part of the way to explaining the characteristics of the patterns….and of course, many things have also happened to the strata over the long period of time since the sediments were first laid down – including fracturing and folding on both a large and small scale – since the White Strand Formation lies exposed in the centre of a syncline.
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Jessica's Nature Blog 
Excellent Jessica. You’ve opened my eyes to the fascination and beauty of geology. If I ever catch up on the backlog I’ve amassed over the last week or so, you’ll see some of the results among the landscapes. (Still not as good as these though). But its great that you’ve inspired me to look more closely.
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What a thought— petrified sand ripples!!
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I look forward to seeing your close-ups of rocks. I have been noticing the outcrops in your landscape photographs and have wanted to get a better look.
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Written like that I can see the ambiguity. Trapped in space and time and turned to stone is what I really meant!
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I like the wording either way!
There’s poetry in both.
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beautiful! the blue grey, the warm rosy red/browns, the subtle yellows – truly nature is the original and greatest artist – you have a great eye for capturing the dynamics of these “static” testaments/monuments and the tremendously powerful forces that brought them into form – being something of a rock guy, I have been drinking in these postings and their well considered details – it really has me yearning to visit your part of the world (one day…) – Thanks!
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Wow! Thank you so much for your generous comments. You are very kind. For my part, it is good to connect with someone who shares an appreciation of the abstract, and also pattern, in both the natural and the urban environment.
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The compliments are well deserved. While I prefer the natural (my home is a remote mountain cabin in the US), I spend much of my time in an uber urban Indian city, regularly aching for the deep silence and clean cold of the mountain forests – but beauty has many manifestations…
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Thank you, again. You seem to live a life of great contrasts and see the potential for beauty wherever you may be – as evidenced by your photography.
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Yes, it’s a little schizophrenic and I do try to keep my eyes, ears, and mind open – thanks for the compliment – much appreciated!
Blessings
DN
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