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Pedestal Rock

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Definition

Isolated mass or rock resting or balanced on a smaller/thinner base or pedestal (Stone 1967).

Synonyms

Flared rock; Hoodoo; Logan stone; Mushroom rock; Pedestal(ed) rock/boulder; Undercut rock

Interpretation

There is no simple interpretation of these forms, as they may be formed by many different processes.

Formation

Mushroom-shaped rocks are formed by a variety of processes involving differential weathering and erosion/abrasion. They illustrate the concept of equifinality in geomorphology: similar forms produced by different processes. They occur both in layered rocks (Fig. 1) or in rocks composed of similar material throughout (Figs. 2 and 3), in which case erosion by wind or salt weathering near the rock base may produce the pedestal rock structure.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Pedestal rock on the Colorado Plateau, USA. The underlying weak shale has been largely eroded away by fluvial processes, but a small pedestal still supports the sandstone block (Photo by Julie Laity)

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA

    Julie Laity

Authors
  1. Julie Laity
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Correspondence to Julie Laity .

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Laity, J. (2014). Pedestal Rock. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_287-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_287-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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