282 THE EARTH'S SURFACE AND PLANT LIFE 



WIND-CUT ROCKS, GARDEN OF THE GODS, 

 COLORADO 



These rocks have been fantastically cut by 

 wind-blown sand. 



The glasses in the 

 windows of light- 

 houses along sandy 

 coasts are sometimes 

 so etched as to lose 

 their transparency. 

 Rocks exposed to the 

 winds are carved and 

 polished; the softer 

 parts are worn away 

 more rapidly than 

 the harder parts, just 

 as in all other forms 

 of erosion. In cer- 

 tain regions where 

 the prevailing winds 



are in one direction, one side of exposed rocks is found to 

 be polished, while the other sides remain rough. 



Wind Burying and Exhuming. In exposed sandy regions 

 where there are 

 strong winds, ob- 

 jects which obstruct 

 the movement of the 

 air cause deposition 

 of the transported 

 sand just as obstruc- 

 tions in flowing 

 water cause sedi- 

 ment to be de- 

 posited. And just 

 as sand bars may be 



deposited by a river A TREE BEING Duo UP BY THE WIND 



