Along Deep Creek Road in Wabaunsee County, shot by Alex Hawley
Limestone is hard. Flint – or chert to you sticklers – is even harder. You can cut limestone into huge blocks and use them to build homes, barns, bridges, court houses, and universities. You can cut yourself on flint, since it fractures into very sharp-edged stones.
So what’s the point, besides the fact I just like to state the obvious? It has to do with curves, soft gentle curves. To illustrate, I direct you to one of my favorite photos, a shot of the Flint Hills along Deep Creek Road in Wabaunsee county by Kansas photographer Alex Hawley.
What draws me to the photo is the way it captures the curves of the hills. And because it’s shot in black and white, the photo also brings out the texture of the hills, from the coarse grass in the foreground to the fine feel of the distant hills along the horizon. Right in the middle is the softness of the hills, with highlights along the curves of the downward slopes. The repetition of the same curve in the row of hills pulls me deeper into the Flint Hills.
The shot also brings me back to limestone and flint. These gentle curves were caused by very hard geology and this relation between stone, slope, and grass helps make the Flint Hills unique and one of our favorite places.
The Cottonwood Limestone layer makes for massive outcrops.
It’s a question of scale. The curves are gentle when viewed from a distance, but not so soft when you get up close. Like Alex’s shot, there is depth to the Flint Hills, and I’m not talking about elevation from the crest of the hill to the bottom of the valley. The closer and deeper you look at the hills, the more you discover. The more you discover, the more you appreciate. Then, you can step back and look at the whole from a new, more informed perspective.
I’ve hiked with people who were taking their first, up-close look at the Flint Hills. Maybe they have seen the hills from Interstate 70 or K-177, but they have never hiked in the hills. Usually, they are amazed at how many rocks they have to walk on, from large limestone slabs at the outcrops, to the chunks of flint scattered across the slope between outcrops. There are sharp, hard rocks everywhere.
Which brings me back to the start of this post. The rocks are hard, but gentle.
3 Comments
July 30, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Dennis, thank you for featuring my photograph on your blog. I’m really enjoying reading about the geology of the Flint Hills and like how you integrate the geology with the aesthetic aspects.
I might add that this location is easily accessed from I-70. Take Exit 316, “Deep Creek Rd” and go south about a mile or so. This is the next exit east of the K-177 exit.
July 30, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Deep Creek Road is a great drive. There are a lot of great drives, which would be a great topic for some entries. Now if only gas was cheaper.
Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad to link to your photos; they’re great.
August 1, 2008 at 9:08 am
[...] edition of National Geographic, shows golden autumn grass of the tallgrass prairie covering the curves of a row of hills. The photo was also used as a commemorative poster for the traveling exhibit of [...]