Hampi's Geology

stoot

Can anyone give me pointers or info on this subject? I am especially interested in the boulders of this area. Any other historical info as to how the area came to be would be appreciated too. Any thoughts on this area of the country are most welcome. Take care, Tommy.

Apana

'Fraid not. I am also fascinated by the rockscapes of the Deccan plateau, but have not been able to find any information on the geology. Having said that, Kanada University at Hampi does have a department of geology. You might want to try and contact them.

Apana

stoot

Thanks for that. I will get back to you if I receive any info, Take care, Tommy.

india-welcomes.com

Hope this helps .......

Hampi - Located on the banks of the river Tungabhadra, in the southern state of Karnataka, Hampi, has known great prosperity and brutal plunder. During the medieval period, Muslim rulers of the north, one being Muhammed Bin Tughlaq, led a plundering mission here. Later, two Hindu brothers Harihara and Bukka, sent as emissaries by the Tughlaqs, went on to set up an independent state here and founded the new capital city of Vijayanagar in 1343. They ruled till the Sultan of Ahmednagar defeated king Rama Raya in 1565 at Talikota thus throwing the city open to plunderers.

The city is categorized into three distinct areas: the Hampi bazaar, a rich enclave of temples and ghats; the royal enclosure housing remains of the palace, pavillions, stables for elephants; and the Anegonda village which looks out on the Hemakutta and Matanga hills. Despite its historic relevance, Hampi today still retains the quiet, small-town feel. It is a great place for a leisurely holiday packed with some wonderful sightseeing.

Alan D

I can't find much on the geology of Hampi but here's a piece about "hippies" at Hampi.

http://my-kannada.com/cgi-bin/n/view...08973, 46709,

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bijapuri

they are granite and very old.
almost exactly identical in look to the Alabama hills of California. Maybe that is why westerners are so attrected to them, as the Ala hills have been the backdrop to over 300 hollywood films, mainly westerns, but even "Gladiator" had scenes shot there.

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Apana

Check out the following site http://geoindia.8m.com/ . That's the best I could find and a newly published book on photographs of rocks in Hyderabad does not add to the info contained in this site.

Apana

stoot

Thanks a lot for that link Apana. It puts things into perspective for me now. Basically, the lands belong to 'The Mesozoic Era' 245 BC-65BC. Hampi and its surrounds were formed towards the end of this era, [the last 10%].
'This is the era we all think of as Ancient Earth. Rampaging dinosaurs, dive bombing Pterodactyls, endless forests of giant ferns and erupting volcanoes.'
Now that I can imagine very easily, even sitting here in Scotland typing this. It does somehow for me put the landscape into perspective. I cannot wait to get back to sit in the boulders, possibly- although not necessarily watching the sun go down, and just let my imagination do the tricks. It will be fabulous. If any others out there have visited Hampi, what are your thoughts?
Those fabulous enormous pink boulders [at times] with all of that going on!! Who needs Jurassic Park?!!!!!!!!Take care, Tommy.

wonderwomanusa

I don't think those dates are accurate for the Mesozoic Era. There's no way that pterodactyls were roaming around some 2500 years ago.

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Alan D

Hi Tommy

Here are a few facts about granite I gleaned from the web and some things I knew already - I'm originally from a place close to the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland which are composed of granite.

Granite is a very old rock and is part of the earth's core. Most Indian granites are from the Archean and Proterozoic Ages and are between 3.8 and 0.6 billion years old. Unlike basalt, another igneous rock, which formed when lava poured out onto the earth's surface, granite formed under heavy pressure underground and was later exposed by uplifting forces or by the action of glaciers. In the case of Hampi I think we can discount glaciers.

The composition of granite is
Feldspar ( 50% or more) red or green colour
Quartz (25-40%) white
Mica (3-10%) black

The geographical origins of granites can be identified by the exact combination of the above substances. In other words every granite has its own "signature".

As the granite cooled underground it fractured at right angles leaving lines of weakness when it was eventually exposed at the surface. The action of wind, rain or water then caused the erosion and produced landscapes like Hampi. As others have pointed out, similar landscapes are found elsewhere in the world.

Have a pleasant time among the rocks

stoot

Sorry folks! Firstly, Wonderwomanusa- those dates were millions!!- secondly; Alan D thanks for correcting me. I read the Deccan Trap- for the Deccan Plateau on Apanas suggested website. However, I still cannot work out what era they are from! Any help? That site is very interesting to someone who is on his first ever geology lesson! Learning and enjoying it. Also, for myself, it does mean that dinosaurs could have visited if they wished; the boulders would certainly have been around! Any more help would be much appreciated! Take care, Tommy.

Alan D

Thanks for posting the question, Tommy. You've got me involved in this now and I'm learning a lot myself!

Firstly, on the website Apana posted the Deccan Trap area is to the north of Hampi. Hampi is in the brown and purple area south of the area marked in green on the map and to the east of Goa which is the Dharwars of Karnataka section of the website.

Here's another website - it's very technical and I don't understand most of it!

http://sbg.igc.usp.br/rgb/vol29_down/2901/2901033.pdf

Here's a piece from it

PROTEROZOIC CRUST
The tonalite crust evolved in the middle to late Archaean period has remained stable during the latter geological period until the present though during late Archaean- Proterozoic Transition (APT), parts of it have been reworked due to anantexis, resulting in the formation of batholithic K-rich granitoids of adamellite- monozonite character. These granites of porphyritic pink and grey are distributed all over the shield starting with the Ghingee, Closepet, Hyderabad, Lepakshi, Purur, and HAMPI granites in the south and Bundelkhand, Dongargarh, Singhbum, and Jabalpur granites in central and northern India.

A couple more facts which might help with the time factor

Ma is a geological abbreviation for one million years.

5000 years is one millionth of geological time.

The rocks at Hampi seem to have been formed between 3200 and 2300 million years ago!

Apana

Alan--

Thanks for that link. Yes, it is a bit too technical for the layperson.

Perhaps Tommy can explain it to us?

What I wanted to say that the 'Closepet' in the passage quoted by Alan is what is called to-day as Ramnagaram. This is 50 kms from Bangalore and you do see enormous outcrops there.

Apana

stoot

Thanks for confirming what I arrived at 2nd time round!! Alan D. I did need the confirmation though. I am trying to contact a friend who studied Geology, to see if he can shed more light. On a lighter note, it looks like I may be doing a bike trip to the area next time! So much to see. On a different slant- whilst in Hampi last time; 2nd visit, I spoke to the elderly gentleman who owns the bookshop in the Bazaar. Anybody know him? He seemed fairly well informed in general. According to him- wait for it; the area we are talking of was at one time an ancient seabed which had dried up! Is this possible? Once again I am asking all of you out there to help. Thanks again, Take care, Tommy.