I found this rock broken in half on a small gravel bar along the river at the arboretum. The rock’s radiant colors and gritty texture gave it a cosmic impression. I felt caught between deciding if something was being created or destroyed.
It turns out that it is both. One way that rocks are broken down to contribute to the formation of fertile soils is through chemical weathering. Rocks that contain iron are highly susceptible to the chemical reaction known as oxidation. When iron is exposed to any type of moisture, the iron atoms react with the oxygen molecules in the air to form iron oxide, also known as rust. The rust will weaken rocks and cause them to crumble. As the rock deteriorates, the small bits of rock and minerals will be carried away by the river and dispersed into the ecosystem.
