Calanche - Heart of Corsica

The Calanche (Les Calanches) are a bizarre landscape south of Porto, Corsica. The red granite lies about 400m above sea level and is formed into these forms by a special form of weathering called "Tafloni-weathering". That kind of weathering is possible at ocean coasts where the rock comes into contact with saltwater and then dries again. The repeated drying and wetting of the rocks lets saltwater seep into the rock where it then dries and the salt crystallizes. The salt crystals take up more space than the watter they were solved in and so stress starts to build until the granite grains start to seperate (salt pressure), the temperature changes during the day (thermal expansion) and in winter some minor freeze-thaw weathering increase the effect.

Location: Les Calanches, Corsica 42° 15' 9" N, 8° 39' 26" O

The rock feature here is often called "The Heart of Corsica" - I guess everyone can see why that is the case. From different perspectives the surrounding rocks look somewhat human-like which gave this specific formation its alternate name: "The Lovers"