I did not know this existed until today

[irisblue]

Link to tweet

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Beautiful

[2naSalit]

2. I didn't know that either...

Amazing! And beautiful.

[True Dough]

3. Not exactly a tourist hotspot, I guess

Certainly is appealing to the eye and under-appreciated but I'm not booking a ticket to go see any of it in person.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I didn't either!

I think there are probably a lot of things about Iran that we don't know. These are very cool.

[Arne]

6. The black striping looks volcanic.

[Trailrider1951]

7. Actually, probably not volcanic, but mud deposits solidified into shale

Salt domes form from shallow marine seas subjected to hot dry conditions that promote the formation of evaporites. Geologists call these sabkha environments:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabkha

Salt domes are the result of cycles of repeated inundation/evaporation of the sea water over time. The thick layers of salt are buried, and subjected to pressure from the overlying formations. This causes the less dense salt minerals to rise through the overlying sediments (which are more dense) through the mechanism of diapirism:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_dome

Erode away some of the overlying rocks and you have cool looking formations such as you see in the pictures above. And yes, I love Geology!

[Arne]

8. Not a cataclysm?

[Trailrider1951]

9. Nope

Just the right conditions over lots and lots of time.

[JDC]

5. Someone here posted a skyline pic of Tehran a while back and it looked just like Salt Lake City

That whole country is a mystery to me.



*typo

[judesedit]

10. And I thought the salt flats were cool. These shots are amazing.

[murielm99]

11. Beautiful and amazing.

I know it is not the same, but it reminds me of the story of Lot's Wife.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot%27s_wife

[lastlib]

12. Slightly off the subject, I LIKE this guy's Twitter handle!

"Klaatu barada nikto!"

[irisblue]

15. If you are on twitter, you really should follow this guy. He has excellent compilation

Link to tweet

?s=20

[FSogol]

13. Very cool. For a more accessible location with some similarity, check out Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

Very amazing place.

[Sloumeau]

14. Biggest animal salt licks ever. :) nt

[DemoTex]

16. Reminds me of Coal Mine Canyon, east of Grand Canyon .. and

And the limestone karsts of the Kaibab Uplift, north of the Grand Canyon in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Different geologies, but beauty is beauty.


Coal Mine Canyon, Arizona


Black veins of coal in Coal Mine Canyon


Karsts on Cottonwood Canyon Road, Utah

[Kitchari]

17. Wow

How amazing

[gademocrat7]

18. Beautiful photos!

Thank you for sharing these, irisblue.