Photo by Sally King The cliff in front of you has numerous holes, some big and some small. These holes are created by wind and water erosion of the volcanic tuff we talked about earlier. Water freezes and thaws in the permeable rock breaking off big and small pieces (most are microscopic). Wind picks up these small bits of stone swirling them in the slowly growing depressions and whittling away just the tiniest bits of mineral. Over more than a million years some of these natural openings have grown much bigger. Did you know that the rocks that fall from the cliff naturally are called talus? |
Last updated: April 28, 2025