Pockmarked Rocks On Top Of The Ridge Stock Photo

Smoothly eroded rock at the top of the north ridge at the Scotts Bluff National Monument in western Nebraska. Rock has many small indentures from rain drops striking the rocks. Small fissures follow along naturally occurring fault lines. Visitors have carved their initials in the soft rock in places and accelerated the effects of erosion. Small plates of harder rock protect the softer material and lead to rock spires in places. The sandy soil produced by the reduction of the rock allows only hardy grasses and stunted cedar trees to grow.