Faces in the Rock

One of my favorite parts of the hike into the Grand Canyon was the oddly beautiful array of rock structures formed over eons of wind and water erosion.

The Grand Canyon is as spectacular as it is because of the many different types of rock from which it is made--limestone, sandstone, shale, and others. The different rocks erode at different rates and in different ways. This erosion is maximized by sudden summer thunderstorms, which pump massive amounts of water through the Canyon in short, violent bursts.

I was particularly struck by the examples of erosion which to some distorted degree resemble faces. Beady eyes peer out at hikers, the ancient, calcified remnants of giants, dwarves, and other strange creatures. Hardened mouths are frozen in smiles, sneers, and gasps until gusts, rains, and rockslides change their expression.

These photos capture but a few of those faces in the rock.