Our planet is fraught with a huge number of mysteries, phenomena that even modern science can hardly explain. One of such puzzles is the origin of the huge stone balls scattered across the endless valley of the Kazakh peninsula Mangystau. It seems to the layman that this is a joke of giants or alien guests, but scientists have managed to find the true reason for their appearance in this desert area.
Historians argue about the origin of stone balls
The Valley of the Balls attracts travelers who flock to the peninsula to see with their own eyes the stone blocks of the correct rounded shape. The balls vary in size and color, but are predominantly composed of sedimentary rocks (sand and clay). Scientists call these balls "nodules". In the course of studying the question of their origin, it was revealed that, possibly, the balls were formed as a result of electrical discharges that appeared in the earth's crust in zones of active tectonic faults. The rock rotated, and around the grain the rock "grew", and stone balls appeared.
Valley of balls in Kazakhstan - a mysterious place
Balls formed from sedimentary rocks
Promotional video:
Scientists suggest who the nodules were formed in those distant times, when there were reservoirs in the place of the modern valley. The grain, or core, of the ball was formed from the remains of small organisms that lived in water bodies. This is confirmed by the fact that, examining the rock inside the ball, one can see the preserved ancient prints of insects, shells and fish. The ball was formed according to the principle of a snowball: a tiny core was overgrown with a thick layer of sand and clay. The size of the balls is not the same: there are small specimens, and there are those with a diameter equal to a meter or more.
Inside the ball is the core
The shape of the balls is gradually changing today. Under the influence of the winds, they are gradually destroyed, and the landscape becomes even more mysterious.
Mysterious stone balls