Publisher © Czech Geological Survey, ISSN: 2336-5757 (online), 0514-8057 (print)
The influence of run-off water on sandstone surfaces: effects on sandstone microrelief
Abstract
Water running across vertical rock surfaces of porous quartzose sandstone generally shows a protective effect provided that it does not augment frost erosion. The occasionally wetted vertically elongated patches can, after hundreds to thousands years of development, form a positive relief, resembling a rope or an "elephant trunk". Such forms of microrelief were documented in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin. Sheet-like wetting of large portions of subvertical sandstone cliffs may protect them from the formation of deep shelters at their bases (Zion National Park, USA).
