Tafoni (singular: tafone) are small cave-like features found in granular rock such as sandstone, with rounded entrances and smooth concave walls. They often occur in groups that can riddle a hillside, cliff, or other rock formation. The can found in all climate types, but are most abundant in intertidal areas and semi arid and arid deserts. Currently favored explanations controlling their formation include salt weathering, differential cementation, structural variation in permeability, and the length of the drying period between wettings.

An ancient Tafoni formation located in the mountains near San Francisco

An ancient Tafoni formation located in the mountains near San Francisco

Tafoni in Sandstone at Salt Point State Park, Sonoma County, CA.

Small versions of tafoni are sometimes called alveoli; like the former, they are hypothesized to be results of salt weathering. Such tafoni are found in the Jodhpur-Ajmer section of India's Thar Desert.

References

• Stoppato, Marco, and Alfredo Bini. Deserts. Buffalo: Firefly Books (U.S.) Inc., 2003. ISBN 1-55297-669-6 pp. 30-32
• Owen, Athena M., 2007, Tafoni Caves in Quarernary Carbonate Eolianites: Examples from the Bahamas. Masters Thesis, Mississippi State University, 179 pp.

External links

• Media related to Tafoni from the Wikimedia Commons.
• www.tafoni.com Comprehensive explanation of tafoni, explanations of how they form, images, references