Basalt

We had a lazy Sunday today. The only activity was a visit to the village Hering with the castle ruin "Veste Otzberg".
If I remember correctly, 22 million years ago a volcano formed the little hill underneath the castle. Eight different types of rock can be found in the close area of the volcano. One of them is basalt.

I always thought basalt is rare in Germany. That's why I found this mountain wall so fascinating. But basalt is actually quite common, even in the state of Hesse. Just not in our area :). So I still find it fascinating.

In my youth, in a country without mountains and without volcanos, basalt was used for the dikes to stop the water (I lived most of my time in the Netherlands below sea level). What fascinated me most of basalt was the polygonal form of columnar basalt. The basalt in Hering has this form.