Lyons Sandstone Tafoni EarthCache
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This EarthCache is located in Red Rock Canyon Open Space. The coordinates will lead you to a part of the park that was once used as a sandstone quarry. Blocks of orange Lyons Sandstone were cut out of this wall and taken away to be utilized for building material in the surrounding communities. The sandstone walls at this site have begun forming cavities or hollows called tafoni. This process is also called honeycomb weathering or cavernous weathering, and the structures called “wind holes”. Though not well understood, this is thought to occur mainly through a form of wind and water erosion.
In one hypothesis of how tafoni are created, moisture through the form of dew or precipitation enters these rocks and dissolves some of the harder minerals. These are leached to the surface, where the water evaporates leaving a coating or crust on the parent material. Some time later a piece of this outer crust breaks or weathers off and wind erosion begins to eat away at the softer material below. The rock eventually weathers to the form which you see here.
The sandstone at this site is the beautiful small-grained sandstone of the Lyons Formation. Tafoni is usually found to be associated with sedimentary rocks, such as sandstones.
To log this earthcache:
1.) Measure the size of the largest and smallest cavities that you can find in the sandstone.
2.) Feel the sand that is being formed at the bottom of one of the holes. Is it rough or smooth in texture? Why do you think this might be so?
Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
2007. Chronic H., and F. Williams. Roadside Geology of Colorado, 2nd Ed.
2004. Hopkins, R.L., and L.B. Hopkins. Hiking Colorado’s Geology
Red Rock Canyon Open Space: (visit link)
Tafoni: (visit link)
Thanks to the City of Colorado Springs and the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department for allowing placement of this EarthCache!
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