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Desert varnish coats rocks in millennia-old iron and manganese films

Nature Deserts
www.daily-feeds.com

Desert varnish coats rocks in millennia-old iron and manganese films

Shahzad Mahota Published By Shahzad Mahota @shahzad-mahota

Desert varnish coats rocks in millennia-old iron and manganese films

Many arid rock faces wear a dark, shiny skin called desert varnish — a paper-thin mix of clay, iron oxides, and manganese oxides built grain by grain.

Dust settles, microbes help fix metals, and centuries of weather polish the coating until petroglyphs carved through it stand out as pale scars.

Time paints stone. Desert varnish turns bare cliffs into slow canvases where geology and life collaborate in micrometers.
Nature Deserts Earth Science Natural Wonders
Shahzad Mahota Shahzad Mahota @shahzad-mahota

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Desert varnish coats rocks in millennia-old iron and manganese films