Y'all, mushroom rocks are weird.
And I don't mean weird as in, "we can't explain them"—they're the result of wind erosion, which preferentially removes softer rock near ground level, leaving more resistant rock perched on narrow columns.
I just mean, "they're weird looking".
And I don't mean weird as in, "we can't explain them"—they're the result of wind erosion, which preferentially removes softer rock near ground level, leaving more resistant rock perched on narrow columns.
I just mean, "they're weird looking".
That first example is in the White Desert National Park in Egypt. These weirdy mushroom rocks (or rock pedestals) are from the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness in northwestern New Mexico.
Mushroom rocks are fairly common, and occur all over the world (especially in sedimentary sequences with layers of softer and harder rock).
This is the famous "Balanced Rock" in @ArchesNPS, as seen by moi in 2017. The bit on top has a mass of 3,600 tonnes. Don't get under it.
This is the famous "Balanced Rock" in @ArchesNPS, as seen by moi in 2017. The bit on top has a mass of 3,600 tonnes. Don't get under it.
