   So, you want to see the beautiful
of "The Boulders" up close?
   This is a polished section, at a magnification of about 3x. The majority of what you see is a mineral called feldspar, some of the gray crystals (clear, in reality) are quartz, and the black ones are a type of mica called biotite.
   These minerals cooled from a molten state about 1.4 billion years ago, during time.
   The shapes of the boulders you see now behind the lodge are much, much younger. They have been formed by fracturing and erosion over the last 12 million years or so, and actually are still in the process of formation -- slowly, slowly.

   Next View >>

   You can ponder these facts while playing golf at one of The Boulders' famous courses! Or you can take one of our weekly hour-long tours up into the rocks. Just ask at the Concierge Desk.

A polished section of granite from The Boulders, at about 3x.

   If you like rocks, gems, geology, hiking, & stars in the sky, to our FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER.

   See the GeoHistory page if you want to know more about why the landscape looks the way it does, or return to the map of "The Rocks of the Valley of the Sun" for more view locations.
   You can also send this as an E-Postcard to your friends!