We
had to have some electrical wiring at the house this week. Since the power is off in the house, we moved
to the campground at Fort Pickens. Harbor defense meant building a fort in the 1800’s. Forts are spread all along the east and gulf coasts. The materials vary but I love the brickwork of the forts in this area.
On a
hot summer day, they are cool with breezes though the windows for the guns.
Overtime,
the calcium carbonate in the lime mortar leeches out of the brick to form
draperies, stalagmites, and stalactites on the walls, ceilings and floor. I've seen a
report online that showed in 1931 a stalactite
was measured at 10” long and grew at the rate of 1” a year (www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM19/AM19_429.pdf).
This means that these grow at a MUCH greater rate than in caves (0.0051"
per year on average)
plus the national park service must be cleaning these up frequently.
No comments:
Post a Comment