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Jeju Island Jungmun Columnar Joints 2

The Daepodong Columnar Joints in Jeju Island are a natural formation of hexagonal stone pillars created by the cooling and contraction of lava after volcanic eruptions. These striking geological structures, reaching heights of up to 40m and extending 1km, are significant for their aesthetic beauty and geological importance, serving as a resource for studying past sea level changes and tectonic movements. The site is protected as a natural monument due to its unique features and academic value.

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Denise Koh Chin Hui
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9 views1 page

Jeju Island Jungmun Columnar Joints 2

The Daepodong Columnar Joints in Jeju Island are a natural formation of hexagonal stone pillars created by the cooling and contraction of lava after volcanic eruptions. These striking geological structures, reaching heights of up to 40m and extending 1km, are significant for their aesthetic beauty and geological importance, serving as a resource for studying past sea level changes and tectonic movements. The site is protected as a natural monument due to its unique features and academic value.

Uploaded by

Denise Koh Chin Hui
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Hexagonal folding screen Stone pillar

jeju island Chinese


Columnar jointing
On the satellite copy Korea's topography

Similar Articles 8

category Columnar joint


Administra Jungmun-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju Special
tive district Self-Governing Province
s
GPS Coor North latitude : 33°13´57˝~33°14´43˝
dinates East longitude : 126°25´11˝~126°25´55˝
Keywords Columnar jointing, volcanic eruption, Dae
podong basalt, lava

2D satellite image of the Jungmun Columnar Joints in Jeju Island

Daepodong Columnar Joints can be seen by taking th


e Hallasan Crossing Road (National Highway No. 99) f
rom Jeju Airport, passing Yeomiji Botanical Garden in
Jungmun, Jungmun Folk Village, and then turning rig
ht at Jeju International Convention Center. There is a s
cenic spot called 'Jisatgae' or 'Mosigijeong' on the co
ast of Daepodong, Seogwipo City. The hexagonal sto
ne pillars are stacked one on top of another, towering l
ike a castle, and the waves crashing between them lo
ok like a painting. The Jisatgae Coast Columnar Joints
are about 30m high square to hexagonal rocks that fo
rm steep cliffs along the coastline that stretches abou
t 1km.

Columnar joints that preserve the


mystery of nature
Columnar jointing is generally a vertical stone pillar for
med by the uniform contraction of the lava surface aft
er a volcanic eruption of dense black-gray or dark-gra
y basalt or trachyte lava. This phenomenon is similar t
o the phenomenon of cracking in a rice field during a
drought, and if you compare the shape of columnar jo
inting and the cracked rice field, you can see that they
are similar. When a volcano erupts or magma is erupt
ed from a crater, the lava that comes out to the surfac
e flows along the low areas of the surface. Magma ha
s a high temperature of about 1,200℃, which is very
hot compared to the temperature of the surface. Whe
n lava suddenly flows to the surface, if there is a lot of
it, it will flow thickly, and if there is a small amount, it w
ill flow thinly, and the thin part will cool faster than the
thick part. Therefore, the thin part and the quickly coo
led part will be small in size, and the thick part and the
relatively slow cooled part will be large in size.

The columnar jointing of volcanic rocks seen in Daepo


dong is caused by tensile stress as lava erupted to th
e surface cools rapidly as it flows to a lower area and
shrinks in volume. In particular, lava has relatively regu
lar vertical fractures that are perpendicular to the dire
ction of flow and form 120° angles to each other, so it
usually has a polygonal shape (usually 4-6 sides). Col
umnar jointing is easily formed in an environment whe
re lava cools relatively quickly. On the coast of Daepo
dong, the columnar jointing is more distinct in the part
that touches the sea, but it can be seen that it becom
es blurred and disappears as it goes to the upper part
of the rock. The surface of the rock is currently cover
ed with thick clinker , but it would have been even thic
ker when the rock was formed. The thick clinker layer
acts as an insulating layer, so the rock cools slowly an
d columnar jointing cannot develop.

Hexagonal columnar jointing Columnar


jointing usually has a 4- to 6-sided shape, but the columnar jointing
closest to the sea is more clearly polygonal.

Daepodong columnar jointing


is well formed in an environment where lava cools relatively quickl
y, and the columnar jointing in the part that touches the sea is mor
e distinct.

Dolgidul Byeongpung Daepodong


Columnar Joints
The Daepodong basalt that forms the Daepodong col
umnar jointing is basalt that erupted from the Nokhaji
ak cinder cone about 250,000 years ago. It has a disti
nct porphyritic texture when seen with the naked eye,
and is composed of plagioclase, olivine, orthopyroxen
e, clinopyroxene, and opaque minerals. Depending on
the direction of cleavage, the jointing is divided into pl
ate jointing and columnar jointing. On the coast of Jej
u Island, columnar jointing forms cliffs, and the famou
s Jeongbang Falls and Cheonjiyeon Falls are waterfall
s formed in this terrain. The Nokhajiak cinder cone is
a mountain peak located at about 520-540m above s
ea level on the southwestern slope of Hallasan. It is al
most circular in plan, but the northeast-southwest dir
ection is slightly longer, so it shows a conical shape in
three dimensions, and there is no crater to be found.
A valley is formed at the western end of the Oreum vo
lcano, and if you climb north along the valley, you can
observe the cross-section of the Oreum volcano com
posed of scoria (pine cones) and volcanic bombs, an
d the lava flow that flowed from the highlands coverin
g it. The pine cones that make up Nokhajiak and the la
va that makes up the hills to the south have the same
mineral composition. That is, these lavas are distribut
ed continuously through the downtown area of Jung
mun-dong to the coast of Daepodong, and in particul
ar, the coastal cliffs of Daepodong Jisaetgae, famous
for their columnar jointing, are also made of the same
lava. Therefore, it is presumed that the volcanic activit
y of Nokhajiak erupted a large amount of lava before a
nd after the formation of the volcanic cone, and that i
n the later period, it mainly erupted lava to widely cov
er the entire Jungmun-dong area.

Daepodong Columnar Joints


The upper surface of Daepodong Columnar Joints has been mostl
y eroded and flattened by the force of strong waves.

There are many tafoni formed by salt weathering caused by waves


on the cliffs of the honeycomb weathering columnar joints develop
ed in Daepodong Columnar Joints .

The best scenery created by God


Daepodong Columnar Joints, with their elaborately la
yered, dark red hexagonal stone pillars that seem to h
ave been polished by a god , spread out like a folding
screen, is a natural resource where one can feel both
the greatness and exquisiteness of nature, and is desi
gnated and protected as a natural monument. Daepo
dong Columnar Joints reach up to 40m in height and
1km in width, making them the largest in Korea along
with Saekdal Coast Gaetgak Columnar Joints. The col
umnar joints here are worth protecting not only as a t
ourist resource, but also for their outstanding geologi
cal and geomorphological academic value. In particul
ar, they can be an important academic resource for st
udying the sea level changes and tectonic movement
s that occurred during the formation of the columnar j
oint cliffs, as well as the glacial sea level changes duri
ng the Quaternary Period of the Cenozoic Era.

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