Red Rocks

What are some possible reasons why the rocks are red?

1. The rocks are totally composed of red stuff.
2. Only the surface of the rocks is red.
3. Someone, perhaps, vandals or space aliens, painted the rocks.

Possible ways to test these explanations

• Test A: If only the surface is red, then a simple test is to break off a piece of the rock and see if the rock is some other color inside. Unfortunately, we can't actually do that from our computer.
• Test B: Fortunately, Nature has already done test A for us, and pieces that have fallen off the cliffs are red on all sides.

Conclusion from Test B: Either the rocks are red all the way through or else their surfaces turned red after falling.

• Test C: We would use similar logic to evaluate explanation number 3, that the rocks are painted. If the rocks are red all the way through, they are not painted only on their surface. Also, we could go see if it looks like paint or could chip some off and analyze the chips for chemicals found in paint.

If someone proposed that the aliens used a special kind of paint that soaked all the way through the rock and that looks just like rock, we might have more difficulty eliminating this explanation. Supernatural explanations, such as this, are commonly beyond the realm of science, because they cannot be disproved. This supernatural explanation cannot be disproved, but it does not seem very likely!

• Key Data: Geologists have thoroughly studied this place and have found that when you break off a little piece with a rock hammer, the rock is red on the inside.

Let's learn what the color of rocks means!

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