A blockfield, also known by the German term felsenmeer, or sea of rock, is a surface covered in boulder- or block-sized rock fragments, usually associated with volcanic terrain, alpine settings, and subpolar or periglacial climates. Unlike scree or talus, a blockfield is not thought to result from mass wasting; most researchers attribute it to frost weathering that fractures the rock in place, though an alternative view holds that some blockfields began as chemical weathering during the warmer Neogene period and were later reworked by periglacial action. Either way, the angular boulders remain roughly where the underlying bedrock broke apart rather than having been transported.
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