Geotourism in Rio de Janeiro
PUTTING FAMOUS ROCKS ON SCALES Iran F. Machado Professor
It took over 500 years until some people had the curiosity to measure the tonnage of famous rocks in Brazil
Geotourism in Rio de Janeiro
PUTTING FAMOUS ROCKS ON SCALES Sugar Loaf + Urca Hill M1 = 580,000,000 tons (Sugar Loaf: circa 120 million tons)
Rounded Island M2 = 85,000,000 tons
Finger of God M3 = 2,800,000 tons
Geotourism (from “geology”): Used by geologists, especially in British Commonwealth countries, to refer explicitly to geological tourism, focused on landforms, mines and quarries, caves, rock formations, volcanoes, and so forth. In practice, many geological tourism projects often seek to incorporate associated cultural and natural aspects of a place, and so blur with the broader geographical meaning. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Geotourism
The National Geographic Society defines geotourism as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotourism
Sugar Loaf & Urca Hill
Sugar Loaf & Urca Hill Measurements
IME* engineers Alex Dave Szrajbman and Vagner Braga Nunes Coelho made laborious calculations of the volume of Sugar Loaf & Urca Hill. For the determination of the hills' volume, area and drainage network they used an algorithm which allows the reading of a text file containing three-coordinate points organized in level curves describing the surface of both Urca and Sugar Loaf hills, the modeling of the surface through Delaunay triangulation, calculation of its drainage network, volume and surface area and visualization of the result in computational environment. The calculated volume and surface area were 2.18 x 108m3 and 2.36 x 106m2, respectively. Mass = Volume x density = 579,444,000 tons Rock density = 2.658 tons/cubic meter (determined by IPT staff in Sao Paulo)
* IME = Military Institute of Engineering (Department of Defense)
Photo: Iran F. Machado
Sunrise
Sunset
Augen Gneiss Sugar Loaf’s rock
Photo: Iran F. Machado
Augen Gneiss Sugar Loaf’s rock
This rock was originally a granite that was deformed when the African continent collided with South America forming Pangea supercontinent. Evidences indicate that this collision happened ca. 560 million years ago.
Pangea Supercontinent
http://eatrio.net/pangea-maps
Pangea Supercontinent
http://pixgood.com/pangaea-supercontinent-kids.html
Pangea with political boundaries
http://io9.com/
Pangea Breakup
geography.howstuffworks.com
Darwin’s Diary “Visited the shore behind the Sugar Loaf & again obtained vast numbers of insects. — The situation being much the same as that of Barmouth many of the insects were closely allied; as I watched the elegant Cicindelæ running on this sand, Barmouth with all its charms rose vividly before my mind.” (May 28, 1832) Source: http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1925&viewtype=text&pageseq=1
Charles Darwin
Cicindela sp.
Sources: http://www.fotografodigital.com.br/fotografia/besourotigre-ou-cicindela-76397.html and https://moiseslima.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/
HMS Beagle
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Beagle#mediaviewer/File:PSM_V57_D097_Hms_beagle_in_the_straits_of_magellan.png
Leaving Rio de Janeiro
Source: http://iheartrio.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/rio-de-janeiro-boat-view.png
Heading to Montevideo
“Scarcely any wind. The Sugar Loaf is still in view & points out the entrance into Rio” (July 6th, 1832). The Beagle arrived there on the 28th of July.
Source: http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1925&viewtype=text&pageseq=1
Beagle Voyage
Source: http://www.audleyblog.com/2011/05/
The Rounded Island Ipanema Beach
Simple Calculations (by Professor Machado)
H = Height = 248 meters (apud Carlos Rangel)
Diameter = 700 m
Radius = 350 m
V = 1/3 x H = 1/3 x (3.14159) x 3502 x H = 31,813,835 m3 M = V x D = V x 2.658 = 84,561,173 tons
Note: This island is approximately a cone of pure rock.
Satellite Image
Cagarras Archipelago
Ipanema Beach
Finger of God Outskirts of Rio de Janeiro
Simple Calculations (by Professor Machado)
H = Height = 225 meters (apud Santa Cruz & Sayao)
V=
Diameter = 76 m Radius = 38 m
x H = 1,020,703 m3
Mass = M = V x D (rock density) = V x 2.7 = 2,755,898 tons
Note: The Finger of God was assumed to be a cylinder for simplifying calculations. Its correct shape is rather complex for determining the volume.
Source: http://companhiadaescalada.com.br/en/climbing-on-dedo-de-deus-finger-of-god/
www.panoramio.com
"Although I have seen in other parts of Brazil many and varied primitive forests, any I thought more beautiful and more mild than those that, close to the city of Rio de Janeiro and covering again the hillsides of the hills, they receive the name of Sea Range [it Saws of the Organs] (...) These forests pleased me much more than the other ones and they were forever having recorded in my spirit, not only because they were primitive and, with that, a present for my frightened eyes, but actually because they exceed in beauty and softness." K.F. von Martius German botanist, 1817. Source: http://www.summitpost.org/serra-dos-rg-os-national-park-rj-brazil/428195
Karl Friedrich von Martius
Professor Iran F. Machado obtained his PhD in geology at the Uppsala University, Sweden. In the last 50 years he worked in the federal government, in private companies, at the University of Campinas, and as a consultant. His areas of interest are : mineral policy, mineral economics, international relations, and geotourism. E-mail:
[email protected]
