At Bryce Canyon, Rocket stares at hundreds of tall, skinny rock towers glowing orange in the morning sun.
"Who carved these?" he asks. "They look like giant chess pieces!"
Raven reads the sign: hoodoos. Some towers have small holes punched right through them.
"What do you notice about those holes?" she asks.
Nova hovers beside a hoodoo with a window in it. "Would you like a hint? The sculptors here are rain, snow and ice."
Bryce Canyon has the greatest number of hoodoos anywhere on Earth.
For about 200 days a year, temperatures there go above and below freezing. That means lots of frost wedging.
Snowmelt and rain trickle into cracks, then freeze and expand. Over time, holes called windows break through the rock walls.
As windows grow, the rock above them falls. Tall, skinny spires are left standing. Those are hoodoos.
Rain and melting snow wear away the plateau edge about one to four feet every hundred years.
At Bryce Canyon, ice does most of the carving.
Freezing and thawing break windows through thin rock walls.
When a window gets too big, the top falls. Tall hoodoos are left behind.
| Statement | True or false? |
|---|---|
| Bryce Canyon has the most hoodoos on Earth. | ? |
| Hoodoos are carved mainly by ocean waves. | ? |
| Windows can break through thin rock walls. | ? |
| The plateau edge wears away one to four feet every hundred years. | ? |
You discovered how ice can carve towers! Tomorrow at Launch Lab, your family builds layers in a jar.