The drop off is 100 feet to the bottom of the sandstone ridge!
Step after step we hiked up the trail. It was a perfect day for hiking with temperatures in the mid-seventies. The sun was shining that day, and there wasn't a hint of foul weather. Jill and I were hiking on the west side of Shades State Park in central Indiana, which is known as the Devil's Backbone. The hiking trails for Devil's Backbone are technically in Pine Hills Nature Preserve, which is adjacent to Shades State Park. The trails aren't labeled on the state park maps, which leaves them little trafficked. On this particular day we were the only ones out on the ridge.
What is the Devil's Backbone?
The Devil's Backbone is a ridge in the park that is made our of sandstone rock. It has a narrow trail that gets as skinny as a few feet across. The drop off on either side is 100 feet! The park actually advises going across the trail with young children and pets. Going across the narrowest section of the trail is quite exhilarating as you get great downward facing views in either direction. Try to go on a day where you are the only ones on the trail so that you can really take your time going across. This will afford you the opportunity to look at the hemlock forest that surrounds the ridge.
Honeycomb sandstone
After you descend from the devil's backbone, the trail goes to the bottom of the ridge on the Honeycomb trail. This is where you get to see erosion at its finest. This photo was taken looking up at the ridge of the Devil's Backbone and the underside of the sandstone rock that forms it. As you can see erosion has created a unique honeycomb pattern within the rock which gives the trail that you are hiking its name. This type of erosion is also referred to as alveoli, lacework, stonelace, fretting or miniature tafoni weathering.
What causes honeycombing?
Rock can become honeycombed due to a wide range of erosion. It could be caused by wind erosion. I find that is less likely in this scenario due to it being on the underside of the rock. Marine abrasion is another cause. This seems unlikely, as there is no water source nearby. Mechanical weathering due to temperature changes. This seems more likely. Salt weathering seems unlikely here due to the fact that it is not by an ocean. Water erosion from water seeping through the sandstone seems like the most likely culprit to me.
The erosion created a unique honeycomb pattern.
Did you know?
- Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock that is formed from small silicate granules.
- Due to the porous nature of these rocks they are great aquifers.
- Sandstone is a type of clastic rock, which means it is formed from other materials being pressed together.
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