ARCHITECTURAL FORMS IN NATURE. 73 



mountaineer. Some of the shapes here are most peculiar. One which 

 I call the Synagogue (Fig. 12), as no other name, so far as I know, 

 has ever been applied, is representative. Its lines are strikingly like 

 those of the temple of Khandaria in Khwahrao, Central India. It 

 has a round main structure, showing several deep lines of horizontal 

 molding, and is of a deep reddish-brown color. The " roof " is a light 

 pinkish red, as I remember it, and rounds up to a central cupola of 

 the lower color. Springing from the fror,t is a beautiful minaret, car- 

 rying the darker color to the apex. 



Though strange rock structures abound in all this region, it is in 

 the specially arid portions that they are most common. The strata 



& 



THE SYNIsGOCI 

 UTMI 



3> 



Fig. 12. — The Synagogue. 



being unprotected by vegetation, the wearing away is more rapid, 

 and follows more eccentric lines. The higher and drier a local- 

 ity, there — provided there is some rainfall — will be found the 

 most extraordinary rain carvings. The lack of abundant rain pre- 

 vents the growth of vegetation and the altitude permits the rain 

 torrents to carry loads of sand, and the more sand and velocity the 

 greater the scouring. In some of these intermittent stream courses 

 the sand and bowlders scoop out deep holes like huge pots — a variety, 

 in fact, of the hole known in geology as "pothole" (Fig. 13). 

 These are very deep and sometimes provide a thirsty traveler with 

 a draught of clear water that has lingered from the last shower. In 

 some places these " pockets " or " tanks " supply the only water to 

 be had, and it is a glad sight when one sees a pocket before him. 

 Each formation has its own peculiarities of erosion, or as Dutton 

 aptly puts it, " its own school of natural architecture." Given, then, 

 a particular formation exposed to the atmosphere, it can be foretold 

 just what its natural architectural forms will be, whether domes, 

 minarets, pinnacles, arches, towers, or what. 



