Thursday Salute to Originals: Folding Pillars of Stone

An American photographer captures a natural stone arrangement in Utah.

About 140 million years ago, a large body of water covered the region that would become the state of Utah, depositing sand and other sediments that would later harden into stone.

As this area came to be exposed to the elements over the next 100 million years or so, wind, rain, heat, and other natural forces worked to erode away layers of sedimentary stone, creating formations like these towering pillars of Entrada Sandstone.

For his series Draped Stone, American photographer Zac Henderson captures images of these modern sandstone structures or hoodoos — groups of enigmatic figures wrapped up in motionless soft ripples.

“It is almost as if fabric were draped over boulders to protect them from the elements. In another way, the rocks appear almost comically similar to a stereotypical ghost costume, needing only eyes to complete the ensemble,” said Henderson in an interview with This is Colossal.

This Thursday, we’re saluting the explorational photography of Zac Henderson. You can view more images of natural wonders across the U.S. on the photographer’s Instagram and website.

Sources: Zac Henderson, This is Colossal