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Cave Of El Soplao
El Soplao ( Cantabrian: El Sopláu) is a cave located in the municipalities of Rionansa, Valdáliga and Herrerías in Cantabria, Spain. It is considered unique for the quality and quantity of geological formations (speleothems) in its 17 miles length, 6 of which are open to the public. In it are formations such as helictites (eccentric stalactites defying gravity) and curtains (draperies, or sheets of calcite, sometimes translucent, hanging from the ceiling). Its formation dates back to the Mesozoic, in particular the Cretaceous period 240 million years ago. The entrance is at 540 metres in the Sierra Soplao Arnero. The cave was accidentally discovered during drilling for mining, subsequently being exploited for the extraction of minerals. During its operation, many local families were supported by the income they got from the mining, combined with farming livestock. After decades of neglect, speleology, and in particular the Cantabria University Speleology Club since 1975, have d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rionansa
Rionansa is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain.:es:Anexo:Municipios de Cantabria Geography This municipality is located in the Nansa River Valley, from which it takes its name, in western Cantabria. The territory is close to one hundred and twenty square miles, all of them belonging to the National Game Reserve Saja. Localities * Arenas, (Cantabria), Arenas * Las Bárcenas * Cabrojo, (Rionansa), Cabrojo * Celis, Spain, Celis * Celucos * Cosío (Cantabria), Cosío * La Cotera * La Herrería (Cantabria), La Herrería * Obeso (Cantabria), Obeso * Pedreo * Los Picayos * Puentenansa (Capital) * Riclones * Rioseco (Rionansa), Rioseco * Rozadío * San Sebastián de Garabandal References Municipalities in Cantabria {{Cantabria-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stromatolite
Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations ( microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral " microbial mats". In turn, these mats build up layer by layer, growing gradually over time. A stromatolite may grow to a meter or more. Although they are rare today, fossilized stromatolites provide records of ancient life on Earth. Morphology Stromatolites are layered, biochemical, accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains in biofilms (specifically microbial mats), through the action of certain microbial lifeforms, especially cyanobacteria. They exhibit a variety of forms and structures, or morphologies, including conical, stratiform, domal, columnar, and bran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratch hardness comparison. Large calcite crystals are used in optical equipment, and limestone composed mostly of calcite has numerous uses. Other polymorphs of calcium carbonate are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite over timescales of days or less at temperatures exceeding 300 °C, and vaterite is even less stable. Etymology Calcite is derived from the German ''Calcit'', a term from the 19th century that came from the Latin word for lime, ''calx'' (genitive calcis) with the suffix "-ite" used to name minerals. It is thus etymologically related to chalk. When applied by archaeologists and stone trade professionals, the term alabaster is used not just as in geology and mineralogy, where it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aragonite
Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including precipitation from marine and freshwater environments. The crystal lattice of aragonite differs from that of calcite, resulting in a different crystal shape, an orthorhombic crystal system with acicular crystal. Repeated twinning results in pseudo-hexagonal forms. Aragonite may be columnar or fibrous, occasionally in branching helictitic forms called ''flos-ferri'' ("flowers of iron") from their association with the ores at the Carinthian iron mines. Occurrence The type location for aragonite is Molina de Aragón in the Province of Guadalajara in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, for which it was named in 1797. Aragonite is found in this locality as cyclic twins inside gypsum and marls of the Keuper facies of the Triassic. This type of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necroraphidia Arcuata
''Necroraphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises a single species, ''Necroraphidia arcuata''. History and classification ''Necroraphidia arcuata'' is known only from one fossil, the holotype, specimen number CES 391.1. The specimen is composed of a partial isolated fore and hind-wings, leg segments, and a partial abdomen. All of the wings and the abdomen are covered in a mat of fungal hyphae. They are included in a specimen of amber with plant debris and a number of other insects, such as coleopteras, hymenopteras. and aphids. The fossil was recovered from outcrops of the Las Peñosas Formation in Rábago, part of the Cantabria autonomous community in Northern Spain. ''Necroraphidia'' was first studied by group of paleoentomologists led by Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente of the University of Barcelona and including Enrique P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantabroraphidia Marcanoi
''Cantabroraphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from fossil amber found in Cantabria, northern Spain, dating to the Albian age of the Early Cretaceous Period. Currently the genus comprises a single species ''Cantabroraphidia marcanoi''. History and classification ''Cantabroraphidia marcanoi'' is known only from one fossil, the holotype, specimen number ES-07-6, which is housed in the Museo Geominero in Madrid, Spain. The specimen is composed of an almost entirely complete adult insect of unidentified sex. Preserved in a transparent mass of amber, the specimen is fixed in association with a large amount of plant debris and one adult dipteran. Despite the amount of debris obscuring portions of the individual, enough details are present and visible to show the specimen was not from a previously described genus. The fossil was recovered from outcrops of the Las Peñosas Formation in the Cave of El Soplao near Rá ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Amber
Jet is a type of lignite, the lowest rank of coal, and is a gemstone. Unlike many gemstones, jet is not a mineral, but is rather a mineraloid. It is derived from wood that has changed under extreme pressure. The English noun ''jet'' derives from the French word for the same material, (modern French ), ultimately referring to the ancient town of Gagae. Jet is either black or dark brown, but may contain pyrite inclusions which are of brassy colour and metallic lustre. The adjective " jet-black", meaning as dark a black as possible, derives from this material. Origin Jet is a product of decomposition of wood from millions of years ago, commonly the wood of trees of the family Araucariaceae. Jet is found in two forms, hard and soft. Hard jet is the result of carbon compression and salt water; soft jet may be the result of carbon compression and fresh water. Despite the name they both occupy the same area of the Mohs scale with the difference being that soft jet is more likely to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia of New Jersey'', Rutgers University Press, . Amber is used in jewelry and has been used as a healing agent in folk medicine. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material as inclusions. Amber occurring in coal seams is also called resinite, and the term ''ambrite'' is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams. Etymology The English word ''amber'' derives from Arabic (ultimately from Middle Persian ''ambar'') via Middle Latin ''ambar'' and Middle French ''ambre''. The word was adopted in Middle English in the 14th centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amarantoraphidia Ventolina
''Amarantoraphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises only a single species ''Amarantoraphidia ventolina''. History and classification ''Amarantoraphidia ventolina'' is known only from one fossil, the holotype, specimen number CES 364.1. The specimen is composed of a mostly complete adult insect with the wing tips missing. The apical third of the right hindwing is also gone and the left front most leg has been disarticulated. The specimen is included in a piece of amber with plant debris and a number of other insects, such as a thysanopteran, hymenopterans. and dipterans. The fossil was recovered from outcrops of the Escucha Formation in Moraza, part of the Province of Burgos in northern Spain. ''Amarantoraphidia'' was first studied by group of paleoentomologists led by Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente of the University of Barce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalagmite
A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist of lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat (crystallized urine of pack rats). The corresponding formation hanging down from the ceiling of a cave is a stalactite. Mnemonics have been developed for which word refers to which type of formation; one is that ''stalactite'' has a C for "ceiling", and ''stalagmite'' has a G for "ground", another is that, as with ants in the pants, the mites go up and the tights (tites) come down. Formation and type Limestone stalagmites The most common stalagmites are speleothems, which usually form in limestone caves. Stalagmite formation occurs only under certain pH conditions within the cavern. They form through deposition of calcium carb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cantabrian Sea
The Cantabrian Sea; french: Mer Cantabrique, gl, Mar Cantábrico, ast, Mar Cantábricu, eu, Kantauri. is the term used mostly in Spain to describe the coastal sea of the Atlantic Ocean that borders the northern coast of Spain and the southwest side of the Atlantic coast of France. It extends from the cape Estaca de Bares in the province of A Coruña, to the mouth of the river Adour, near the city of Bayonne on the coast of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques in French Basque Country. The sea borders of coastline shared by the Spanish provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Asturias, Cantabria, Biscay and Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French de ..., and the French area of Labourd. Notes and references {{notelist European seas Seas of Spain Seas of Franc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra Del Escudo De Cabuérniga
The Sierra del Escudo de Cabuérniga is a mountain range in Cantabria, Spain. It is a northern foothill of the Cantabrian Mountains, located between the main ranges and the Bay of Biscay. Its highest point is 927 m high Gándara. Traditionally in Cantabria this range has been considered the border between ''La Marina'' (The Coast) and ''La Montaña'' (The Mountain). Geography The Sierra del Escudo de Cabuérniga runs parallel to the coast, separated 15–20 km from it. The altitude of its summits averages between 600 and 1,000 meters above sea level. The range is broken in several places by gorges eroded by the rivers which flow perpendicularly from the Cantabrian Mountains into the sea. Its continuity is very well marked in the western zone of Cantabria, while to the east, its orography starts to dilute, although the appearance of great faults mark its East-West route. The Escudo River has its sources in this range. Geologically the Sierra del Escudo de Cabuérniga is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
