This is a distant view of 'the Burren'. It's this huge limestone hill structure that was formed when all of the area used to be underwater. It was very interesting to see because it looked like another planet...how you'd think the moon would look like, etc.

So, my favorite geologist in the world just sent me this explanation for why the Burren is so cool and since he constantly talks about how he will be World Dictator someday, I figured it was best to acquiesce now rather than face his wrath in the future. The following is from the future Dr. Christopher Davis:

Nice Photo's of ireland but i'm a bit upset that you didn't include the proper explanation for why the Burren is so special.Limestone undergo dissolution quite readily and they tend to form low lying ground. However the Burren is high ground on the west coast of ireland (a paradox). This is due to the fact that there use to be a layer of mudstone on top of the limestone, as if you raise sea-level deepen it you shut down carbonate production (the animals that form the coral reefs that make the Burren need sunlight to photosynthesise, if you go too deep there's no light and they die and sedimentation is replaced by hemiplegic clastic material i.e. mud).Mudstones have low permeability this means that water finds it really hard to get through it. As a result the limestone that lies beneath the mud remains dry, and this prevents the dissolution (dissolving) of the limestone. However during the last ice age (about 12,000 years ago) the glaciers planned off the top mudstones from the Burren. The result of this is two fold 1) you get the moonscape you see in the photos and 2) the Burren is now no longer protected from dissolution and as a result the Burren is slowly fizzing away.Therefore i feel it important that you tell your blog views that they see it now before its all gone!

And there you have it folks! He who controls geology can control the world, at least that is one man's belief...







Here I be at the entrance to Aillwee cave with the ocean in the background...











Those are the Arann islands in the background - they are super famous for their wool sweaters (jumpers in Ireland) and for being 'Irish'...

It kills me though...the Irish all call me Ahhren, but they'll say 'Erin' for Arann islands....what can you do?










This is what I meant by the 'moonscape' of the Burren...cool eh?








And here is a view of the Burren from my friend Kathy's house...