EXPLORATION: Weathering and Erosion

Most erosion in a desert is done by wind. This action of wind eroding, transporting and depositing sediments if called aeolian erosion.

Wind accomplishes this erosion by using fine sand particles like sandpaper, which abrades the rock, wearing it away. How much erosion occurs depends on wind speed, the size of carried particles and the hardness of the material being eroded. Difference in rock hardness can often lead to strange formations in desert environments where softer rock is eroded and harder rock remains.

Look at the photo below, which shows Cappadocia region of Turkey, where these hoodoos or fairy chimneys form. What might you assume about the hardness of the different layers of rock? How did these comes to be eroded like this, assuming that this is a desert?

photo from Alwayswanderlust.com