| Pinto Basin Boulder Pile | |
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Here's another boulder pile, this time made of the gneiss rocks in the eastern part of the park. Whereas granite is a rock with little or no grain, gneiss is strongly layered. It develops jointing differently, and therefore the boulder piles look different too. These boulders are more strongly colored by rock varnish, too, perhaps because of longer exposure or the more metal-rich mineral composition.
(c) Copyright 2002 Andrew Alden, licensed to About.com, Inc.
