Xplo Eristotle wrote:
> 
> Here's the larger image I promised, with a couple of tweaks to the function.
> 
> As far as I know, mud like this is usually the result of fine, dusty
> material which either washes over a sandy or rocky layer, or is
> deposited on it by wind and then hydrated. The sun dries the mud
> unevenly, making the top shrink and causing the cracking and
> characteristic upward-curling effect.
> 

I think such structures usually occur when muddy water is drying out, like
some flat lake.  Such small and regular pieces would probably occur on a
extremely flat ground with very fine material. IMO the curling is also
caused by the finer material concentrating on the surface when the water
is drying out and creating a stronger material that shrinks more than the
layers below.

It looks really good, but I wonder about the small round spots.

> 
> The sphere is a foot in diameter. It was provided for scale, and to add
> a little variety.
> 

That seems a bit to large to me, such regular cracked mud is quite fine
IMO (2-4 cm structures) larger pieces would involve more roughness and
less curling.

Christoph

-- 
Christoph Hormann <chr### [at] gmxde>
Homepage: http://www.schunter.etc.tu-bs.de/~chris/

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