Bryce-Type Sandstone Forest Landscape

This is a representative type of sandstone landscape found in the Bryce Mountains in southern Utah, U.S.A., in inland lacustrine facies sedimentary red, pink and purple sandstone strata of the Palaeogene-Palaeocene Claron Formation. From the watershed towards the valley, numerous stone pillars and walls have been developed in a series of circular and horseshoe-shaped depressions and they become the major elements of this type of landscape. These rock pillars are cylindrical, conical, mushroom-shaped, or castle-like. The stone walls have different heights and sometimes have holes and caves, the colours and shapes of which change with the light. These pillars, which are 5–30 m high, are in compact layers and look like a forest when viewed from a distance. This area is hot and dry with concentrated precipitation. Therefore, torrential rain can wash away the weathered residue in the concave depressions, making the stone forest look cleaner, brighter and more mysterious (Fig. 28).

Fig. 28

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