Ventifact

Ventifacts are rocks that have been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand or ice crystals.^[1] These geomorphic features are most typically found in arid environments where there is little vegetation to interfere with aeolian particle transport, where there are frequently strong winds, and where there is a steady but not overwhelming supply of sand.

Impressively carved mushrooms are the centerpiece of White Desert national park, Egypt

Ventifacts can be abraded to eye-catching natural sculptures such as the main features of White Desert protectorate near Farafra oasis. In moderately tall, isolated rock outcrops, mushroom shaped pillars of rock may form as the outcrop is eroded by saltating sand grains. This occurs because, even in strong winds, sand grains can't be continuously held in the air. Instead, the particles bounce along the ground, rarely reaching higher than a few feet above the earth. Over time, the bouncing sand grains can erode the lower portions of a ventifact, while leaving a larger less eroded cap. The results can be fantastic stone mushrooms.

Individual stones, such as those forming desert pavement, are often found with grooved, etched, or polished surfaces where these same wind driven processes have slowly worn away the rock.

When ancient ventifacts are preserved without being moved or disturbed, they may serve as a paleo-wind indicators. The wind direction at the time the ventifact formed will be parallel to grooves or striations cut in the rock.

An example of a Martian ventifact was named Jake Matijevic. By analyzing its shape, it was possible to reconstruct the main wind direction which sculpted the rock.^[2]

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  Schist boulder pitted by sand blast near Palm Springs Station, Colorado Desert. Riverside County, California (Mendenhall, 1905)

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  Ventifact from the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California.

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  Ventifact at Ventifact Ridge in Death Valley (Mayer, 2003)

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  Granite stone polished by windblown sand, Sweetwater County, Wyoming (Bradley, 1930)

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  Outcrop of granite that has been undercut by the abrasive action of windblown sand, Llano de Caldera, Atacama Province, Chile (Segerstrom, 1962)

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  Wind-carved sandstone in a blowout near Meadow, Texas (Stout, 2002)

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  A rock sculpted by wind erosion in the Altiplano region of Bolivia (Wilken, 2002)

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  Rock formation carved by high winds at Dolly Sods, West Virginia, USA.

See also

• Blowout (geology)
• Dreikanter
• Dune
• Yardang

References

1. Laity, Julie E. (2009). "19. Landforms, landscapes, and processes of aeolian erosion". In Parsons, Anthony J.; Abrahams, Athol D. Geomorphology of desert environments (2nd. ed.). [Dordrecht]: Springer. pp. 597–628. ISBN 9781402057199.
2. Patrick Zasada (2013) Entstehung des Mars-Gesteins "Jake Matijevic". Sternzeit, issue 2/2013: Page 98-101. (German language).

External links

Media related to Ventifact at Wikimedia Commons

• The Bibliography of Aeolian Research