Existing comment:
Grottos: Look for a pattern to the cliff formations - recurring features based on the type of rock and the erosion conditions at Bryce Canyon.
The grottos appear all in a row in the same layer of pale sandstone. Following that layer northward (right), the alcoves become windows through a narrow, jutting ridge. The Wall of Windows may have begun as grottos, though the rock behind them has long since weathered away.
Return in different weather or at other times of the day. In low-angled sunlight, the grottos and windows stand out in sharp relief; on an overcast day they virtually disappear.
The Arch. For the moment, harder caprock prevents the arch from collapsing. Lighter-colored caprock is visible all around this viewpoint, temporarily preserving the hoodoos.
Rain and melting snow trickle down through cracks to a bed of permeable sandstone and follow it to the cliff face. There the moisture begins to dissolve the layer's calcium-carbonate cement. Grain by grain the rock crumbles to sand, and the recess deepens. Tongues of sand are visible below the grottos. |