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In the valley of the stream Djedovica, along the Voćin-Kamenska
road, on the south entrance to Voćin, there is a unique geological
monument of nature - Rupnica. The monument is placed in the
area of the former quarry. This is the unique locality in
Croatia where are expressed columnar jointing on volcanic
rocks. The pillars are mostly vertical apart from those in
the middle, which are bent. When one takes a first look of
these pillars, stays wondering and surprised with the fact
that this is the act of nature, that is of a volcano, which
is known only for destructions.
The origin of such symmetrically shaped pillars, usually
four-sided, is related to the appearance of the extraction
of volcanic effusive rocks, and it is formed when the lava
of homogeny composition gets cold. By cooling, the volcanic
pile tightens so the area that gets first cold breaks in the
shape of polygon (usually a square, pentagon, or hexagon).
As the surface cracks as they get colder penetrate deeper
into volcanic pile, this is the final indicator of the mentioned
process of extraction. The rocks are mostly of green-grey
colour, of a porphyry structure with holo-crystal fine granulated
basis. Locality of Rupnica is a part of petrologically heterogeneous
volcano pile in which there are different varieties of basalts,
andesites, rhyolites tuffs and volcanic agglomerates.
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Although such morphological characteristics are not know
in Croatia, in the world this phenomenon can be found in the
Czech Republic highlands, in New Zeeland, and the most impressive
pillars up to 75 m high, can be find in the Yellowstone National
Park. The locality is still not explored in details, so that
according to some scientists the rocs are from the Cretaceous
period (approx. 70 millions years old), while other claim
that they are from Miocene period (approx. 16 million years
old). Locality of Rupnica was proclaimed first protected geological
monument in Croatia, on October 14, 1948.
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