pillow lava rocks of Maradihalli

Besides prehistorical and historical monuments, there are geological or geoheritage monuments as well. A unique or rarely seen natural rock formation is of geological importance hence such a thing is called a geological or geoheritage monument. Based on the rareness or uniqueness the monuments are awarded a status by the geological department. There are around two dozen national geoheritage sites across India, of them four sites are in Karnataka. They are:

1. Peninsular Gneiss, Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru City
2. Columnar Basalt, Coconut Island, Udipi District
3. Pillow Lavas, Maradihalli, Chitradurga District
4. Pyroclastic Rocks, Peddapalli, Kolar District

Besides the declared sites, there are other unique sites such as the Yana's crystalline karst limestone rocks, Savandurga's monolith, Badami's sandstone hills, Kutkankeri hill, Mudgal granite formations, acrobatic rock formation near Koppal, boulder strewn hills of Anegundi, and many more.

I'd seen and been on Lalbagh's Peninsular Gneiss countless times since childhood days. Then in early 2000s I happened to see the Basalt columns of Coconut island. Then during district wise research of historical monuments I happened to learn of Pillow Lavas of Maradihalli and Pyroclastic rocks of Peddapalli near KGF recently, probably four or five years ago. Though I drove in the vicinity of Maradihalli, a visit didn't materialize due to several reasons. During the first week of June 2021 a trip to Bangalore was taking shape. During the second week the plan was frozen with a stop over at Maradihalli.

June 22, 2021

Dharwad-Bengaluru journey started at 5-15 am. First stop was at 7-30 at Dodda Bathi Gudda. The break was used for a visit to Revana Siddeshwara temple followed by homemade breakfast. The journey resumed around 8-30, by 10-00 I was at Maradihalli driving through a narrow lane going up the hillock towards the pillow lava. I parked my car where the cement road ended.

A group of boys were playing on a water tank, I approached them with a hope that one of them would oblige to take me to the pillow lavas. One of them was willing but another boy dissuaded him. The dissuader said they had some work. They were conversing in Telegu.. from what I caught, they were wary of strangers. The willing boy gave directions instead.. just go along this dirt road, it'll lead you to the rocks. After couple of minutes on the dirt road, I decided to just cut across. As I got closer to the hill top, the slope was littered with brown to black colored rocks.

My target was to reach the pole atop the hill. I guessed the pillow lavas could be see there.

On the way I happened to notice this rock which was much different from the ones seen earlier on this hill. I guessed this must a sample of pillow lava.

The hill was peaceful. Though cloudy, the air was warm but a mild breeze was a relief.  

At the top were a few dressed granite blocks. They seem to be pillars for an upcoming temple. However work seems to have ceased months ago. A larger rock similar to the one seen minutes ago caught my eyes.

This too is pillow lava but I know this isn't the main rock formation. I kept looking and found smaller rocks. 

A closer look at one of the rocks close to the hill top. It looks like a slice of cheese stuck in between chunks of vegetables.

Pillow lava is seen clearly in this rock. It looks like samples have been hacked away from this rock.

A little below the hill top is this ancient shrine. If I'm not mistaken, this shrine is called Ranganatha Gudi. I'm not sure if these shaped pillars are parts of a proper structure which had existed earlier. A narrow flight of rough cut stone steps is there in front of this east facing temple. This shrine seems to have regular visitors.

The temple as seen from the lower end of the staircase. Semi dressed stones have been positioned to prevent soil erosion by rainwater. From this spot, I could see a fabricated structure.. a frame with two legs grouted into the ground. 

The frame was meant to hold an information board but the board was missing. I guessed this was the board about pillow lava rocks. With a little online research I found a picture of the board, its content is given below:

National Geological Monument

Pillow Lava

This hill made up of pillow lava represents an unique feature formed as a result of outpouring of molten rock matter called lava from submarine volcanoes about 12200 million years ago. When the lava comes in contact with cold seawater, pillow like structures develop in by sudden chilling. The study of pillows help establish relative ages of the rock types and the environment of their formation.

These pillow structures are among the best of their kind preserved in the world.

Right behind the board is this rock formation. Good rains have nurtured the vegetation around the rocks, giving the place a lively look. Yes, this is the main rock formation.

A wedge shaped rock clearly displays pillow lava formations.

A closer look at the rocks. The surface is pockmarked at some places.

A few meters away is a larger group of pillow lava. 

This boulder seems like a bunch of smaller boulders have been fused together. It's surface is covered with pockmarks. The following picture is a closer look a the pointed end of this boulder.

Molten lava frozen between lumps of lumps of harder stone.

This is the largest flat surface among all the boulders seen here. The boulder face is approximately 10' feet high. This seems like very liquidly lava froze while in contact with some flat surface.  

Pillows spread across multifaced surfaces. This is close to the base of the 10' tall boulder.

Large to small pillows. I must've shot more than fifty pictures and felt like shooting more. These rocks are very interesting, the more one looks at them the more interesting they get.

I had a journey to continue. I move on reluctantly. A battered stone lying near the board. From here I take the dirt road back to the water tank where my car is parked.

I meet the group of boys were still there including the willing boy and the dissuader. The willing boy was smiling, asked me if I saw the pillow lavas. Yes. Then he pointed me to a footpath and said there are more rock if you go up this path. I told him to come and show it. The dissuader started saying something, I told him to keep quite and asked the willing boy to lead me. It worked, the willing boy lead me to another group of rocks. He said there are many such rock formations on this hill and other hills nearby. He pointed out in the direction of Chitradurga and said there's a big hill with lots of such rocks but there's quarrying activity out there.

This is the willing boy Tarun Kumar posing next to a rust coated pillow lava.

This formation is so beautiful. As I said earlier,, one could spend hours here and shoot countless pictures.

In the few minutes we spent here, Tarun's brother Nithin came up. He wanted to make sure his brother was safe. I guess the dissuader failed for the second time :) The footpath seen here goes straight down to the water tank.

We walked back to the car. The dissuader was frowning. I asked him if he finished whatever work he had. No answer. Tarun and I chatted. He was a curious character. Wanted to know how the car lock worked, how the windows worked. I thanked him, said bye and headed back towards Bengaluru.

While on this topic, do check out a related article- the geological museum at Syntheri Rocks.

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