View source for Earth:Candy Cane Mountains

{{Short description|Shale mountains in Azerbaijan}}
[[File:Alti Agac.jpg|thumb|Candy Cane Mountains near Altıağac.]]
The '''Candy Cane Mountains''' ({{lang-az|Şəkər əsası dağları}}) are [[Chemistry:Shale|shale]] mountains in the Khizi and Siyazan districts of [[Place:Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]], part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. The 'Candy Cane Mountains' were originally dubbed so by travel author Mark Elliott in his guidebook 'Azerbaijan with Excursions to Georgia'.<ref>[https://guidedazerbaijan.com/tour/beshbarmag-mountain-candy-cane-khizi-mountain-tour/ Elliott book]</ref> The mountains' colors are produced by [[Earth:Groundwater|groundwater]] that alters the [[Chemistry:Oxidation state|oxidation state]] of the [[Chemistry:Iron|iron]] compounds in the earth.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.osce.org/baku/3433| title =Sights of Azerbaijan|publisher =OSCE| accessdate = 18 December 2012}}</ref>  

The mountains of Candy Cane are composed of [[Chemistry:Shale|shale]], a type of [[Earth:Sedimentary rock|sedimentary rock]] consisting of many [[Earth:Thin layers (oceanography)|thin layers]] stacked on top of each other. Changes in the environment have led to a difference in [[Earth:Mineral|mineral]] composition as sedimentary rock layers are deposited.

When the slate came into contact with water, the layers containing iron oxidized and turned red, while the layer without iron retained shades of white and gray. Over time, tectonic movements and [[Earth:Erosion|erosion]] exposed these sedimentary layers, turning them into a visual representation of geological history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Candy Cane Mountains |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/candy-cane-mountains |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref> The Candy Cane Mountains contain numerous belemnites and fossils from the [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] period, many of which can be spotted on the surface.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amchamaz.org/domains/amcham/assets/file/newsletter/impact8.pdf |title=Tourism in Azerbaijan- Expedition into an Unknown Environment |author=Gila Altmann |publisher=American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan |work=Impact Azerbaijan |accessdate=18 December 2012 |date=Winter 2010 |issue=8 |page=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330132000/http://www.amchamaz.org/domains/amcham/assets/file/newsletter/impact8.pdf# |archive-date=2013-03-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
*Orography of Azerbaijan

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord missing|Azerbaijan}}
[[Category:Shale formations]]



{{Sourceattribution|Candy Cane Mountains}}