Millennia-old rare basalt columns discovered in Şanlıurfa

Hundreds of basalt columns, estimated to be some 2 to 5 million years old, have been discovered during road construction in the southern province of Şanlıurfa's Siverek district and placed under protection.

The unexpected find occurred at the 31st kilometer of the Siverek-Kahta highway, where teacher İlyas Gizligöl noticed the unique formations and promptly documented them. He sent photographs and videos of the structures to academics at Dicle and Harran Universities for further examination.

"These hexagonal structures are clearly out of the ordinary. Their uniqueness is striking," Gizligöl stated.

Local resident Ferhat Bektaş also acknowledged the importance of the discovery, mentioning that he had encountered similar basalt formations online.

The basalt columns, formed by the ancient volcanic activity of Karacadağ, have been identified as a rare geological phenomenon.

Their formation process involves the cooling and contraction of volcanic lava. When a thick lava flow cools slowly and uniformly, it begins to contract and crack. This contraction occurs because the lava loses volume as it transitions from a molten state to a solid rock.

As the lava cools, it shrinks and cracks into a pattern of polygons, usually hexagons, because this shape allows the most efficient distribution of stress. These cracks propagate downward, resulting in long, vertical columns of basalt.

The regular, hexagonal shapes seen in these columns are a natural outcome of the cooling process, which leads to these remarkable and often symmetrical geological formations.

Mehmet Sait Şahinalp, the head of Harran University's Geography Department, emphasized the discovery's significance. "Basalt columns are seen in only 10-11 places in...