I took this picture at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky near my where my parents live. A tiny plant grows directly out of the rock ontop of one of the natural bridges. (Click picture for larger image).
The Red River Gorge Geological Area has over 100 natural arches, the greatest concentration of arches east of the Rocky Mountains. The defining geologic strata of the Red River Gorge were formed about 300 million years ago. Erosion and weathering over millions of years sculpted the striking sandstone cliffs and intriguing geologic features that we see today in the Red River Gorge. The deeply dissected landscape is an intricate maze of narrow, winding ridges and valleys separated by steep slopes and continuous bands of high sandstone cliffs, making travel between the uplands and valleys very difficult. http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/boone/districts/cumberland/redriver_gorge.shtml
It's such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, thousands of visitors have etched their names or random comments into the rock. It's nearly impossible to take a picture without having "Sarah loves Mike" or "Jimmy was here" in the background. You can see that in this picture. What I love about the photograph is that the plant is growing right out of the rock. I feel like the picture embodies the ability of nature to thrive even under harsh conditions: this tiny plant not only manages to grow directly out of a rock, but survives having hundreds of people disturbing it everyday, tramping over it, and carving their names in the rock beside it.
At the top of one of the arches, where I took the picture, there's hardly any room left for anyone to carve their name in the stone.
Here are a few more pictures, one from the path that leads to the top and one from underneath the arch:
1 comment:
I'm enjoying your photography so far and look forward to seeing more as the semester progresses.
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