Album Tafoni

Nick

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Aug 9, 2007
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A strange word for a beautiful phenomenon. Some may not know it by that name, but according to Wikipedia, tafoni is:

Tafoni (singular: tafone) are small cave-like features found in granular rock such as sandstone, granite, and sandy-limestone with rounded entrances and smooth concave walls, often connected, adjacent, and/or networked. They often occur in groups that can riddle a hillside, cliff, or other rock formation. They can be found in all climate types, but are most abundant in intertidal areas and semi-arid and arid deserts. Currently favored explanations controlling their formation include salt weathering, differential cementation, structural variation in permeability, wetting-drying, and freezing-thawing cycles, variability in lithology, case hardening and core softening, and/or micro-climate changes and variation (i.e. moisture availability). Tafoni have also been called fretting, stonelace, stone lattice, honeycomb weathering, and alveolar weathering.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafoni

Another interesting resource: http://www.tafoni.com/

So let's see your tafoni shots!

This is from just a few days ago in Wiregrass Canyon. A beautiful tafoni wall in a very interesting white section of the canyon.

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And on the other end of the color scale, some tafoni in Wolverine Canyon in the deep red wingate layer.
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Really big wingate tafoni!
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Interesting word. I've always heard the phenomenon referred to as "solution pockets" but never looked into it. Pretty sweet section there in Wiregrass.

I'll play. While this is probably not a normal take on the feature, this rock in Marble Canyon's Cathedral Wash exhibits the look.
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A strange word for a beautiful phenomenon. Some may not know it by that name, but according to Wikipedia, tafoni is:

Tafoni (singular: tafone) are small cave-like features found in granular rock such as sandstone, granite, and sandy-limestone with rounded entrances and smooth concave walls, often connected, adjacent, and/or networked. They often occur in groups that can riddle a hillside, cliff, or other rock formation. They can be found in all climate types, but are most abundant in intertidal areas and semi-arid and arid deserts. Currently favored explanations controlling their formation include salt weathering, differential cementation, structural variation in permeability, wetting-drying, and freezing-thawing cycles, variability in lithology, case hardening and core softening, and/or micro-climate changes and variation (i.e. moisture availability). Tafoni have also been called fretting, stonelace, stone lattice, honeycomb weathering, and alveolar weathering.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tafoni

Another interesting resource: http://www.tafoni.com/

So let's see your tafoni shots!

This is from just a few days ago in Wiregrass Canyon. A beautiful tafoni wall in a very interesting white section of the canyon.

View attachment 38895

View attachment 38894

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And on the other end of the color scale, some tafoni in Wolverine Canyon in the deep red wingate layer.
View attachment 38893

Really big wingate tafoni!
View attachment 38896

Great thread idea Nicholas! Heading into the archives... What a great word too.
 
Is it just me or is that second pic somewhat Darth Vader like? Could be too trips back to the theater for Star Wars this holiday season.

Totally. When I walk through that canyon it feels like I'm on hallucinogens. One of the best of the Colorado Plateau that few have ever seen. There's a reason Steve Allen called this place "the music" and why I won't say the name out loud. Beware the cheemicowbra!

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The San Rafael Swell has some great Tafoni. Shot this one down there in 2011. Turned out to be a great B&W shot.

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I don't know if this is technically tafoni, but Kentucky and the Cumberland Plateau has lots of sandstone that wears into very interesting patterns. We don't seem to get the big open holes like you do out west, but I think is the same process. Regardless, I had this thread running through my head on my last day hike.

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