Friday, December 12, 2008

Pamukkale

Southwest of Turkey, particularly in the Menderes River valley in the province of Denizli, where it enjoys a temperate climate most of the year, is Pamukkale (cotton castle in Turkish), a natural area, which is at the same time a famous tourist attraction.

The ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of the 'castle' white, which in total is 2700 m long and 160 m in height. It may be money at great distance, for example, if we are driving through the hills on the opposite side of the valley towards the town of Denizli, which is 20 km, or traveling from the coast of Antalya and the Aegean Sea.

Tectonic movements that took place in the depression of the failure of the Menderes River Basin is not only causing frequent earthquakes but also resulted in the emergence of numerous hot springs. Were these waters, with its high mineral content - chalk in particular - those who created Pamukkale.

In addition to any radioactive material, the water contains large amounts of calcium and bicarbonate that produce precipitation of calcium bicarbonate. Every second spring from these sources 250 L water, leading to precipitation of 2.2 grams of chalk for each liter of water or 0.55 kg of chalk per second. Over time some sources dried up due to earthquakes, while new ones emerged in the vicinity.

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