![]() ![]() On some days, the top of the mountain is shrouded in a heavy fog, and visibility may be limited to only a few feet. The top of the mountain is a landscape of bare rock and rock pools, and it provides views of the surrounding area including the skyline of downtown Atlanta, often Kennesaw Mountain, and on very clear days even the Appalachian Mountains. Summit of Stone Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain in background This intrusion of granite also gave rise to Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain, both in DeKalb County, smaller outcroppings farther south of Stone Mountain. Over time, erosion eventually exposed the present mountain of more resistant igneous rock. ![]() The granite intruded into the metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont region during the last stages of the Alleghenian Orogeny, which was the time when North America and North Africa collided. The tourmaline is mostly black in color, and the majority of it exists as optically continuous skeletal crystals, but much larger, euhedral pegmatitic tourmaline crystals can also be found in the mountain's numerous, cross-cutting felsic dikes.Įmbedded in the granite are xenoliths or pieces of foreign rocks entrained in the magma. The minerals within the rock include quartz, plagioclase feldspar, microcline and muscovite, with smaller amounts of biotite and tourmaline. Stone Mountain, though often called a pink granite dome, actually ranges in composition from quartz monzonite to granite and granodiorite. This misconception is most likely a result of misrepresentation by granite companies and early park administration. Numerous reference books and Georgia literature have dubbed Stone Mountain as "the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". The Stone Mountain pluton continues underground 9 miles (14 km) at its longest point into Gwinnett County. This magma solidified to form granite within the crust five to ten miles below the surface. It formed as a result of the upwelling of magma from within the Earth's crust. Primarily composed of quartz monzonite, the dome of Stone Mountain was formed during the formation of the Blue Ridge Mountains around 300–350 million years ago (during the Carboniferous period), part of the Appalachian Mountains. Stone Mountain is a pluton, a type of igneous intrusion. South side of Stone Mountain from the Songbird Habitat and Trail in 2009 The summit of the mountain can be reached by a walk-up trail on the west side of the mountain or by the Skyride aerial tram. ![]() Stone Mountain is more than 5 miles (8 km) in circumference at its base. It is the most visited destination in the state of Georgia. It was purchased by the State of Georgia in 1958 "as a memorial to the Confederacy." Stone Mountain Park officially opened on Ap– 100 years to the day after Lincoln's assassination, although the park had been in use for a few years. Stone Mountain was once owned by the Venable Brothers. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and has been the subject of widespread controversy. The carving depicts three Confederate figures, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. ![]() Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet (514 m) above sea level and 825 feet (251 m) above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. ![]()
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