Rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals
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A ventifact (also wind-faceted stone, windkanter[1]) is a rock that has been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand or ice crystals.[2] The word “Ventifact” is derived from the Latin word “Ventus” meaning ‘wind’. These geomorphic features are most typically found in arid environments where there is little vegetation to interfere with aeolian particle transport, where there are frequently strong winds, and where there is a steady but not overwhelming supply of sand.
Wind-carved "mushroom" shaped rocks are the centerpiece of White Desert National Park, Egypt
Ventifacts can be abraded (abrasion) to eye-catching natural sculptures such as the main features of the White Desert National Park near Farafra Oasis in Egypt. In moderately tall, isolated rock outcrops, mushroom shaped pillars of rock may form as the outcrop is eroded by saltating sand grains. This occurs because, even in strong winds, sand grains can't be continuously held in the air. Instead, the particles bounce along the ground, rarely reaching higher than a few feet above the Earth. Over time, the bouncing sand grains can erode the lower portions of a ventifact, while leaving a larger less eroded cap. The resulting forms thus frequently resemble fantastical stone mushrooms.
Individual stones, such as those forming desert pavement, are often found with grooved, etched, or polished surfaces where these same wind-driven processes have slowly worn away the rock.
Ventifacts are typically of three types -
• Einkanters having one polished side (excluding the bottom part) (German word ‘ein’ means ‘one’)
• Zweinkanters having two polished sides (excluding the bottom part)(German word ‘zwei’ means ‘two’)
• Dreinkanters having three polished surface (excluding the polished surface at bottom) those meet up at sharp angles(German word ‘drei’ means ‘three’) [3]
When ancient ventifacts are preserved without being moved or disturbed, they may serve as a paleo-wind indicators. The wind direction at the time the ventifact formed will be parallel to grooves or striations cut into the rock.
Ventifacts have also been discovered on Mars, where such sharp immobile rocks have caused significant damage to the wheels of the Curiosity rover.[4] An example of a Martian ventifact was named Jake Matijevic. By analyzing its shape, it was possible to reconstruct the main wind direction which sculpted the rock.[5]
Schist boulder pitted by sand blast near Palm Springs Station, Colorado Desert. Riverside County, California (Mendenhall, 1905)
Ventifact from the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California.
Ventifact at Ventifact Ridge in Death Valley (Mayer, 2003)
Granite dreikanter polished by windblown sand, Sweetwater County, Wyoming (Bradley, 1930)
Outcrop of granite that has been undercut by the abrasive action of windblown sand, Llano de Caldera, Atacama Province, Chile (Segerstrom, 1962)
Wind-carved, sandstone yardang in a blowout near Meadow, Texas (Stout, 2002)
Rock sculpted into a mushroom-like form by wind erosion in the Altiplano region of Bolivia (Wilken, 2002)
^Klaus K. E. Neuendorf, Glossary of Geology, p. 723
^Laity, Julie E. (2009). "19. Landforms, landscapes, and processes of aeolian erosion". In Parsons, Anthony J.; Abrahams, Athol D. (eds.). Geomorphology of desert environments (2nd. ed.). [Dordrecht]: Springer. pp. 597–628. ISBN 978-1402057199.
^Livingstone, Ian; Warren, Andrew (1996). Aeolian geomorphology: an introduction. Harlow: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-08704-0.
^NASA, Premature Wear of the MSL Wheels, 2017-09-26
^Patrick Zasada (2013) Entstehung des Mars-Gesteins "Jake Matijevic". Sternzeit, issue 2/2013: pp. 98–101. (German language).
A ventifact (also wind-faceted stone, windkanter) is a rock that has been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand or ice crystals...
ventifacts. Sharp edges of ventifacts called Kanters are formed when two or more facets (planar surfaces) intersect. Open grooves in the ventifacts are...
A dreikanter is a type of ventifact that typically forms in desert or periglacial environments due to the abrasive action of blowing sand. Dreikanters...
cobbles that are well polished by the wind and cut into ventifacts. The knobs are covered by ventifacts, suggesting the name, and are located just east of...
Valley, Russia Aeolian processes Hoodoo (geology) Precarious boulder Ventifact The Facts on File. Earth Science Handbook Ciudad Encantada - Visitor information...
Sandhill – Type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem Ventifact – Rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals Desert...
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rock instead of sand Saltation (geology) – Particle transport by fluids Ventifact – Rock that has been eroded by wind-driven sand or ice crystals "Hamada...
Hinchi hill country (a plateau covered in spectacular mushroom-shaped ventifacts) Edward is told by his guide, Eduardo Echeverria, that the Hinchi use...
Árbol de Piedra ("stone tree"), an unusual rock formation, about 7 meters high, a ventifact carved by wind-blown sand in the Eduardo Avaroa Reserve....
nature and extremely vulnerable, such as the ice-core pyramid and the ventifact. These glacial-geological features have not only important scientific...
Virginia), a mountain located in southwestern Roanoke County, Virginia Ventifact Knobs, minor knobs located just east of Lake Bonney in Taylor Valley,...
Opportunity has documented abundant aeolian sandstones on its traverse. Ventifacts, like Jake Matijevic (rock), are another aeolian landform on the Martian...
landforms include depressions and pans, Yardangs, inverted topography and ventifacts. No significant populations can survive in tropical deserts due to extreme...
environments but geologically insignificant. Polished or faceted surfaces called ventifacts are rare, requiring abundant sand, powerful winds, and a lack of vegetation...
(1989). Tucker, R.D.; Marvinney, R.G. (eds.). "Later-glacial dunes, ventifacts, and wind direction in west-central Maine". Maine Geological Survey Studies...
occurs during winter. Wind is the most important weather factor, forming ventifacts and dunes among other structures; at Waw an Namus it mostly blows from...
striations which were previously reported as shatter cones were identified as ventifacts created by wind erosion in sandstones. These striations are surficial...
Fuguijiao Park surrounds the headland. It includes a rocky beach with ventifacts (wind-shaped rocks) and lush tropical vegetation. There is a walking trail...
P / E / M 2018 Thrawsunblat *** T4 P / E / M 2018 The World Over *** Ventifact ME 2017 Brother Neil *** Away Avenue Away... ME 2017 The Bartops *** Paid...
and silt away due to the lack of a layer of vegetation. The presence of ventifacts, dunes and loess is thus typical of Old Drift areas. Young Drift morainic...
glacial striations that record millions of years of snow accumulation, and ventifacts formed by ongoing intense winds. The book's foreword was written by Elisabeth...
Global Information
Schist boulder pitted by sand blast near Palm Springs Station, Colorado Desert. Riverside County, California (Mendenhall, 1905)
Ventifact from the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California.
Ventifact at Ventifact Ridge in Death Valley (Mayer, 2003)
Granite dreikanter polished by windblown sand, Sweetwater County, Wyoming (Bradley, 1930)
Outcrop of granite that has been undercut by the abrasive action of windblown sand, Llano de Caldera, Atacama Province, Chile (Segerstrom, 1962)
Wind-carved, sandstone yardang in a blowout near Meadow, Texas (Stout, 2002)
Rock sculpted into a mushroom-like form by wind erosion in the Altiplano region of Bolivia (Wilken, 2002)
