Sandstone and waves (Sydney Sandstone Part 1)

Photo by Nola (my sister) - Happy Birthday, Nola!

The sedimentary rock, sandstone, defines Sydney in so many ways, geographically, and hence scenically, architecturally, as a major building material, even socially (see below).

Most of the city lies on sandstone, with just a few caps of shale on some of the higher ridges. The sandstone rocks of Sydney form a saucer-like basin. It is soft and hence full of joints and splits, allowing water to erode it into gulleys, and wind to help build formations.

"The sterile sandy soil around Sydney forced the early settlement to spread out, while the sandstone cliffs of the Blue Mountains hemmed the European settlers in for 25 years. Later, as Sydney grew, the pattern of ridges and cliffs directed the paths followed by roads, trams and railway lines, and that made Sydney spread out in strange loops and whorls, quite unlike certain well-planned and mundane cities in other parts of Australia. Later again, the gaps in the sandstone along the coast gave us a marvellous variety of surf beaches.
Oddly, the sandstone has also left Sydney more at risk from bushfires. People have settled the accessible ridges, leaving the deeper valleys full of bush. Ferry travel is another Sydney special demanded by the sandstone. Ferries gave people a chance to settle near the shore during the 19th century, increasing the chance today of a fire taking off and running up to the ridge tops. "
(From website here)

This series is a celebration of beautiful honey-coloured Sydney sandstone in all its manifestations.