Hoodoo Formation

The carving of a tall, thin spire of rock, often topped by a wider, harder caprock, from a badlands or canyon wall as differential weathering strips away the softer surrounding rock faster than the more resistant column beneath the caprock. Repeated freeze-thaw cycling and occasional heavy rain drive the process fastest in semi-arid climates with sharp temperature swings, producing the dense hoodoo fields of Utah's Bryce Canyon and similar badlands landscapes elsewhere.