The Pipes of Kodachrome State Park

We made an early-morning visit to this Utah state park, and one of the major features of the parks are the spires or pipes.  You know these things stand out like they do elsewhere in the canyons of Utah, and I assumed they were formed the same way like the Hoodoos in Bryce, but not so.

Of course if you're a crow, the best way to tell everyone is on one of the highest spots!

Known as the ballerina pipe.

 I call this one "the monK"

 And there's always a hat pipe.

They have an even more fascinating beginning.

First you start out with a whole bunch of sediment laid down very quickly.  Remember this is geological terms and quickly for geology is a couple of million years.

 Then you have this gooey stuff that's forced up from the base layer of soil.

 So it makes it to the top.

 And then you have this long channel of gooey stuff that's finally happy cause it's reached the top....but, it's not finished.

 Now some more topped off with more quickly laying sediment and this makes it into a very hard rock.

 So that when the erosion starts, all but the stuff that was once gooey is now....wait for it...."hard as a rock!"  (Bad joke!)

So then what happens is that the wind and water eventually erode all but the pipe and voila - just like that you're left with a spire which of course took only a gazillion years!  But nevertheless very fascinating.

All of these photos are courtesy of the Visitor's Center at Kodachrome State Park, Utah.   

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