The Rocks of Rio: Shapes and Decays

ROCKS, SHAPES & SIZES:
All rocks on earth change according to their environment. Where it's located. What is the climate. Is it hot, cold, humid and what makes the rocks change. How do the rocks get shaped. what makes the shape. Location and climate have a lot to do with the rock formation where the observation is taking place. Since Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is located in South America, the weather is really hot, and humid. There is beach and mountains that are different sizes. the rocks, rock formation, mountain shape are based on three types of rock. igneous rock which is crystalized and has magma. sedimentary rock, which has layers and strata striations and metamorphic being the last one. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that change its size or shape due to heat and pressure. It's an overall change. In Rio de Janeiro, the majority of rock consists of metamorphosed granite. The combining forces in its region make these steep mountains metamorphic.

A steep mountain consisting the metamorphic rock with granite. the rock is exposed due to combo fractures, climate and weather decaying.
http://exploringthearth.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/christ-the-redeemer-in-rio-de-janerio-brazil-1.jpg 

 When south america and africa split and became two different continents the rocks created weak fractures and minerals reacted to the granite, (the main mineral in Rio's rocks) it created a tropical chemical weathering, and the hot weather in Rio formed what is called sugarloaf-domes all over rio. the domes are caused by exfoliation sheets. This helps the environment around Rio de Janiero to maintain its rainforest, a rainforest.

process of rock weathering
http://www.oocities.org/sg/c_pling/rockcycle.gif

an example of a sugarloaf-dome rock formation in one of Rio's national Parks
http://0.tqn.com/y/climbing/1/L/D/J/-/-/Rio_Sugarloaf_PhGuenterFischer_Getty_3.jpg 

One of the hot spots to visit while in Rio is Arpoador Beach. which is combining two beaches and two parks by one rock formation. The rock is Arpoador stone that comes out form the ocean directly. It's shape and size is unique because its smooth and shaped in a way where you can do activities while on top of the rock. like a very popular one for centuries. Whale hunting with harpoons  

picture of Arpoador Park/beach featuring the "pedra do Arpoador(Arpoador rock) combining two parks and two beaches together.
http://www.visitriodejaneirobrasil.com/arpoador_rock.jpg  

Refrences:

www.rentanapartmentinrio.com/arpoadordiabobeach.html 

www.exploringthearth.com/2013/01/12/rise-in-rio/

Class Lecture: earths innards

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at sunset

Introduction Blog:

Blog created by Joel Medina:

Hello everyone and welcome to my awesome blog on physical geography of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. First let me introduce myself. My name is Joel Medina and I am currently a student at the University of Colorado Denver or as others call it (UCD). I have lived in Denver, Colorado all of my life. I really enjoy traveling and visiting other places. It helps me enjoy it, and relax while taking my mind off thoughts and anything else going on in a college students mind. I have set up this blog to look closely at a worldwide hotspot Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  

This is the famous statue of Christ on a nearby mountaintop overlooking the city

   

I have chosen Rio de Janeiro, Brazil because it's beautiful there and full of culture. You can enjoy the beach and the mountains in the same city limits. And because of amazing photographs of Rio, all over the world, I can tell there is a lot of geography to look at and do a hands on study. I also chose this worldwide hotspot because Fast Five was filmed there. One of my favorite movies in the Fast and Furious franchise. And also this summer Rio hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup. And being a huge soccer fan, I really enjoyed watching all of the world cup games because I could see a geographic and   culture perspective. I think studying the physical surroundings of Rio de Janeiro, can really show me a lot of geography to only make me want to travel there in the near future. So join me in this incredible adventure and thank you for following this blog. We will have lots of fun, this semester.

References for pictures top to bottom:  

http://www.guesttoguest.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/rio-de-janeiro.jpeg

http://blogimgs.only-apartments.com/images/only-apartments/6418/visit-rio-de-janeiro.jpg