Granite can often be chemically and physically (mechanically) decomposed to a very deep level due to long-term weathering processes in the Quaternary. Intensive chemical weathering occurred mainly in warm and humid climatic conditions at the end of the Cretaceous and in the older Tertiary. However, mechanical processes (e.g. physical disintegration of the rock surface) also take place in the depth of the weathering profile, which create the conditions for chemical action. Mechanical weathering causes the breakdown of rock into gravel and sand, the so-called eluvium. Eluvial zones can be more than 20 meters thick.
Boulder Dominic
Mechanical weathering prevailed over chemical weathering mainly in the cold periods of the Quaternary.Soils formed on granite eluviums are coarse sandy and well permeable. They have a low nutrient content and their acidic nature leads, among other things, to the rapid leaching of trace elements. During weathering of the soil-forming substrate, iron and aluminum are released from primary minerals and cambial soils (brown soils) are formed, characterized by the brown color of the profile.Weathering proceeds along natural cracks in the rock, so that the stronger cores remain preserved in the disintegrating eluvium. During erosion, the weathered upper parts are carried away and the unweathered granite cores are revealed. These then remain on the earth's surface as boulders. Boulders can occur individually, in groups or form stone flocks and stone seas. Granite boulders were destroyed in the past either as an obstacle to land cultivation or as a source of building stone. Only a fraction of them have been preserved in our nature to this day. They are considered significant landscape elements and popular tourist destinations.Viklan u Javorná has attracted local residents and Karlovy Vary spa guests since the 18th century. The solitary round boulder weighs over 20 tons. It only lies on a small surface on the ground, so it used to be possible to rock it slightly. This was done using a simple wooden lever, which was installed next to the boulder to the delight of tourists.
Photo 1: The boulder of porphyric biotite granite is 3.5 m long, 1.5 m wide and 2 m high
Photo 2: Educational board at the viklan
Photo 3: The inscription "Dominic" on the viklan is related to the former owner of the Bečov estate, Count Dominik Kounice. The nearby Nové Kounice is also named after him