Nature’s Sculptures
The original bedrock develops numerous vertical and horizontall joints as a natural consequence of the sediments being laid down and the subsequent movement of the rock as they are subjected to tectonic forces and the weight of overlying rocks.
During the last Ice Age, water within the joints freezes and forces the rocks apart.
As the ice sheets move across the ground, they scour out the gaps between the remaining rock leaving tors, rock pillars and piles of boulders.
An extraordinary feature found at Brimham are various holes, tubes and arches apparently carved out of the solid rock.
Stephen Lewis
One of a number of arches and holes perforating the solid rock.
A challenge to geologists has been how have these been formed in rocks that have not been exposed to the force of river or water erosion for millennia.
Stephen Lewis
The Wishing Rock is hidden away close to the Idol Rock.
The Wishing Rock
Dr Bruthans
In 2014, Dr Bruthans together with other scientists from the Czech Republic , published the results of a series of experiments they had undertaken on Cretaceous sandstone from the Strelec quarry.
"Sandstone landforms shaped by negative feedback between stress and erosion"
Explanation of Bruthans experiments with sandstone blocks.
Explain how these results can explain the formation of holes and rock arches.
