by MarkBour » Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:56 pm
I just went and looked at a lot of examples from Google image search. I thought they were mostly simpler shapes. Maybe they are as a rule -- but since we humans like to find and document the most extreme -- it seems that on Earth, we can get hoodoos in almost any tortured spire-like profile, as long as it hasn't broken yet. (The Queen's Head in Taiwan is a great example, and reminds me a little of today's APOD's shapes.)
In this particular case, I can imagine that the following sequence possibly occurred. If we look at the large rock right in front of them and imagine it standing up on its end, it would itself become quite tormented by wind over time. Perhaps it had a small base which included the two rock fingers and finally it broke off. If it rotated and fell forward, leaving behind the two rock fingers, I can see gaps on the larger rock that could have broken off that look like a match for the fingers. Measurements could prove or disprove this theory pretty easily. I can't tell from this perspective if the shapes line up or not. If that happens to be right, then the rock fingers, now exposed to the wind on their own merits, will probably relatively quickly erode to more boring shapes. The front one looks a lot like a bird perched atop a stick (or a King Cobra, as Orin noticed). I can't guess that it will last very long (geologically).
There's lots more to savor in this image beyond the two fingers. I really like the fisherman's hook shape at the far left.
I just went and looked at a lot of examples from Google image search. I thought they were mostly simpler shapes. Maybe they are as a rule -- but since we humans like to find and document the most extreme -- it seems that on Earth, we can get hoodoos in almost any tortured spire-like profile, as long as it hasn't broken yet. (The Queen's Head in Taiwan is a great example, and reminds me a little of today's APOD's shapes.)
In this particular case, I can imagine that the following sequence possibly occurred. If we look at the large rock right in front of them and imagine it standing up on its end, it would itself become quite tormented by wind over time. Perhaps it had a small base which included the two rock fingers and finally it broke off. If it rotated and fell forward, leaving behind the two rock fingers, I can see gaps on the larger rock that could have broken off that look like a match for the fingers. Measurements could prove or disprove this theory pretty easily. I can't tell from this perspective if the shapes line up or not. If that happens to be right, then the rock fingers, now exposed to the wind on their own merits, will probably relatively quickly erode to more boring shapes. The front one looks a lot like a bird perched atop a stick (or a King Cobra, as Orin noticed). I can't guess that it will last very long (geologically).
There's lots more to savor in this image beyond the two fingers. I really like the fisherman's hook shape at the far left.