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Cuernos del Paine, Chile
High-rise horns
Here in Chilean Patagonia, mountains like the Cuernos del Paine are often shrouded in mist. But the clouds cleared and the sunset hit just right for this shot, offering us a peek at these peaks' unique geology. Ancient glaciers stripped much of this mountain chain to its granite bones. You can see this granite exposed in the broad, light-coloured stripe across the base of the Cuernos (meaning 'horns'). But the glaciers spared the peaks' caps, leaving dark patches of sedimentary rock. Geologists call this feature a 'roof pendant' – we call it the crown on a majestic massif.
High-rise horns
Here in Chilean Patagonia, mountains like the Cuernos del Paine are often shrouded in mist. But the clouds cleared and the sunset hit just right for this shot, offering us a peek at these peaks' unique geology. Ancient glaciers stripped much of this mountain chain to its granite bones. You can see this granite exposed in the broad, light-coloured stripe across the base of the Cuernos (meaning 'horns'). But the glaciers spared the peaks' caps, leaving dark patches of sedimentary rock. Geologists call this feature a 'roof pendant' – we call it the crown on a majestic massif.
If you know that "cuernos" means "horns" in Spanish, you can see how this mountain group got its name.
© Anton_Petrus / iStock / Getty Images Plus 2026-09-11 08:45:51 :