Honeycombing is a form of weathering, powered mainly by salt heaving. The process is known as Haloclasty. Moist salt carried into the supratidal zone (area just above the high tide mark) from sea spray lands on sandstone rocks. The salt solution then infiltrates into the rock. Heat, generated by the sun, allows the salt water to evaporate thus leaving a slight pore in the rock where the salt crystal was.
The rock goes through continuous cycles of wetting and drying over a prolonged period. Progressively the rock is wearthered. Other natural processes such as wind and rain, aid in the erosion of the sandstone. Wind carries sand particles into the hollows and the abrasive material widens the holes. Ultimately the rock looks like honeycomb.
Please examine the rocks at the listed coordinates and consider the following earthscience task. Send the answers to the cache owner via message or email.
- Describe the texture of the rock. Do you see any other erosion features?
- Look at the sand on the beach. Does this sand have anything to do with rock weathering.
- Does the honeycomb formation occur uniformly over the entire surface, or only at certain points?