Stars Valley on Qeshm with a historical background of about two million years have been created as a result of soil, stone and sand erosion caused by the wind, rain and shower. The valley is a rare natural masterpiece on the beautiful island of Qeshm. The northern side of Qeshm Island is close to Berke-ye Khalaf Village have shown its strange geological feature. Residents of the area believe that a start fell off the sky and created strange shapes out of soil, stones and sand.
The local name for this area is “Estalah-kaftah” which means “the Fallen Star”. The reason for naming this area as such is that the locals believe that once upon a time a star (commit) (meteor) has hit the earth at this site and as a result of this collision, the stones and soil have been thrown in the air and been frozen, forming these geological structures. There are also local beliefs regarding the presence of Ghosts and “Jinns” in this Valley during the dark which may be due to the unusual geological forms and wind blowing into the Valley at night.
In areas where the geological structures are more resistant to erosion, they have remained intact, however in areas with softer geological structures, erosion has altogether degraded and vanished those parts. In the walls of this Valley, one can observe two different types of layers: A thick and soft layer of light color (beige or light grey) underneath a thinner layer of harder nature, in white or dark grey. The bottom layer due to its soft structure usually gets eroded while the layer above because of having some kind of natural cement (limestone), is more resistant to erosion, protecting the whole structure. In areas where the upper layer is eroded, smaller canyon-like structures have been formed. In some areas within this Valley, geological structure in form of “Pillars” columns may be observed,some of which are needle-shaped. One of the factors which have caused these structures is rainstorm water that is in general seasonal, washing away in circles the soft parts of the geological structure, leaving the harder parts intact as pillars columns or needle shapes. The remnant of hard structures sometimes are “Hat-like” cap rock which almost protects the pillar column from further erosion, while the rest of the structure has been already eroded and disappeared. Various layers in this Valley are thus very vulnerable and fragile, some of them may not even tolerate the weight of a human being. Thus stepping on geological structures could be very dangerous as they might fall apart. Despite a harmonious strong appearance, some areas are critically soft and vulnerable as the bottom layers have already been emptied by erosion.
The local people believe that when it gets darker, the place is filled with ghosts and goblins moving around. However, nothing has been proven so far. Due to the special shape and different volums and the erosion phenomenon, when the wind gusts blow around the columns and hollows of the valley, sounds are made and it seems that is why local people believe that the place is turned into a location for the ghosts and goblins when it gets dark.
The features and exquisite sights of Stars Valley have caused the valley be registered in the list of UNESCO as a section of Qeshm Island geo-park. It is noteworthy that Qeshm Geo-park with its natural and historical beauties is the only geo-park in the Middle East.
Please note that although by stepping on these structures they do not fall apart right away, the upper layers may get thinner and more fragile by trembling and as a result of narrow cracks these geological structures may get degraded more easily in the future. Thus, avoiding to walk on top of the structures overlooking the Valley may help in protecting this geological heritage for future generations to observe.
