These amazing formations in the form of spiral columns are located on the shores of Lake Crowley, California, USA. This place was discovered in 1941, after the construction of a reservoir in the upper reaches of the Owens River. Strange pillar-shaped formations have been seen along the eastern shore of the reservoir. These stone columns up to 6 meters high are connected by arches and look like masterpieces of ancient Greek architecture.
Until 2015, this place was not subjected to any research, which means that the columns are of natural origin. Covered with soft rocks for millions of years, they were hidden from human eyes. Mankind only learned about them because of the activities of the Los Angeles Water Department. During the work on the creation of the reservoir, these unusual formations came out of the water and became available to scientists, so geologists from the University of California at Berkeley decided to conduct a serious study. Crowley Lake and its columns are significantly inferior in popularity to the columns of Mono Lake, which we wrote about earlier. However, this is no less interesting place.
Various methods and modern equipment, including X‑ray analysis and electron microscopy, have enabled geologists to determine the approximate age of the pillars. The pillars of Crowley Lake were found to have been formed by melting snow as cold water seeped through hot volcanic ash from a cataclysmic eruption 760,000 years ago. Omitting details, the scientists say the water created columns like convection heat pipes. They supposedly tied the minerals together to resist the corrosive forces of the lake’s waves. You can see even more of these columns in the selection of wonders of geology in photographs.
On the shores of Lake Crowley there are about 5,000 similar pillars covering an area of 4,000 hectares. They are divided into groups, different in shape, size and color. Like silent statues of stone castles, these pillars seem very mysterious, and it is difficult to accept the fact that these labyrinths of helical columns were not created by man.
