A Lacy Curtain of Stone
May 31, 2021
Photographer: Stan Wagon
Summary Author: Stan Wagon
Shown above is a remarkable lacy formation in the Navajo sandstone of Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona. More detail can be seen in the bottom photo. In the eras following the Jurassic, thin layers of sand (about 3 mm in thickness) found here were compressed more than its surroundings. This “compression band” became a very thin curtain-like stone feature, less permeable to water and therefore more resistant to erosion. It's likely looked this way for, the last, roughly, 30,000 years.
Photo details: SONY A6500 camera; 14 mm lens; 1/200 second exposure; f13; ISO 250.