Limestone Cliffs

Toothpaste



Cement Mix

The beauty of Calenque National Park primarily comes from the contrast of the Mediterranean Sea and the white cliffs. These cliffs are made up of limestone. The limestone itself is a sedimentary rock made up of small fragments of biological matter such as coral and shell particles. These fragments are formed in large part of the chemical compound calcium carbonate(CaCO₃) which is often represented by the minerals calcite and aragonite. Similar minerals can be found in everyday items such as cement, pharmaceuticals and toothpaste. So the limestone was made up of organics collected on an ocean bed over long periods of time and then compacted or cemented together to make a sedimentary rock, and they came out stunning.

Pharmeuticals

             Much of the material in the area other than the limestone has been eroded away to leave the awesome cliffs with inlets throughout which are known as the calenques.  The formation of the calenques can be explained in a bit more detail later when we discuss weathering and mass wasting. However, it is worth noting now that limestone is a rock that can dissolve fairly easily when in contact with waters and acids.

The limestone from this region has been quarried for many years.  One notable iconic use of the rock from this region is the base for the Statue of Liberty.

The limestone in the national park is found on nearly 15,000 acres of land including above the sea and below the sea.  There are 24 different main inlets throughout the region as well as many smaller ones and some other calenque formations which are inland just a bit.

 

References:

 

Marseille Tourist Office.  9/12/12.

http://www.marseille-provence.info/places/sights-and-attractions/237-the-calanques.html

Ritter, Michael E. The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography.             

                9/15/12. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/title_page.html

Virtual Museum of Minerals and Molecules

http://virtual-museum.soils.wisc.edu/carbonates.html

Dal Negro, A., and L. Ungaretti. 1971. Refinement of the crystal structure of aragonite. American Mineralogist.

                 56:768-772.

Graf, D. L. 1961. Crystallographic tables for the rhombohedral carbonates. American Mineralogist.                                  46:1283-1316

 

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