The fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, in central Turkey, are tall, cone-shaped rock formations carved from thick deposits of volcanic ash, or tuff, laid down by eruptions of nearby volcanoes including Mount Erciyes and Mount Hasan roughly 9 to 3 million years ago. Many chimneys carry a harder caprock of basalt or other resistant volcanic rock atop a softer tuff column, and differential erosion by wind and water has slowly whittled the softer material away beneath the resistant cap, producing the towers' distinctive mushroom-like silhouettes. The region's tuff is soft enough to be carved by hand, and Cappadocia's inhabitants have hollowed the formations and surrounding cliffs into dwellings, churches and underground cities for millennia, giving the geological formation an unusually direct connection to human settlement.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.