The Žiegždriai Exposure
Marios Regional Park, is an amazing ornament of rocks and deposits of different colours, textures and layers. The district of Žiegždriai is surrounded by forests and meadows as far as the eye can see. Long ago they were flooded with water. After the glacier has moved, there was a proglacial sea of magnificent proportions.
The presence of them is told by the deposits of sand belts and clay of the gaping Žiegždriai Exposure. Those are the sediments of the previous proglacial pool, the thickness of which exceeds 16 metres.
The layers counted in hundreds give away the secret of how the temperatures changed, what flora and fauna were abundant millions of years ago. At the Žiegždriai Exposure the scientists count over two thousand layers.
A viewer with a keen eye can find another two layers in each layer, marking the seasons of summer and winter. In winter, when the weather is colder, the glacier was melting slowly, therefore there were less sediment. In summer, when the weather was warmer, a thicker layer would subside.
The Žiegždriai Exposure, considered to be a geological treasure, goes on for 400 metres. Its height reaches up to 22 metres. Its greatness can be best seen when travelling on the Žiegždriai geological trail.
You’ll find the exposure in the district of Kaunas, 800 m south-west from the Žiegždriai neighbourhood, on the left shore of the Kauno Marios.
