Rockforms 10: Mushroom Rock

Image Commentary

This is a really fun rock known in death Valley as "Mushroom Rock". In fact the rock is made of volcanic extrusive material (like basalt) that has been carved by high winds carrying an airborne load of fine sand grains. The reason the entire rock is not eroded is because the most predominant prevailing winds are really only capable of supporting an airborn burden of sand to a height of several feet. In otherwords the lower part of the rock has been literally sandblasted around it's base whilr the upper part is almost entirely untouched. Notice how smooth the base is and how much it looks like an ocean wave. This smoothness is simply a function of the way the wind flows across the rock's base.