Hoodoos are the kind of rock formations that make people take second and third looks. These weirdly shaped rock spires that look somewhat like totem poles, are carved by water in arid environments.
Where Bryce Canyon has massive armies of hoodoo formations, Zion National Park has isolated spires, with most of them located on the east side of the park.
“We have hoodoos in Zion, and they’re formed differently than in Bryce Canyon,” said Michael Plyler, director of the Zion Field Institute. “The cap layer is harder — a mix of iron and magnanese over a shaft of softer material.” The top of the shaft is protected from erosion, but not the sides.
In Bryce Canyon, added Plyler, snow melt and summer storms’ water cascades down into the hoodoo-filled amphitheater. The water creates parallel ridges or fins of rock. Over time, frost wedging and erosion from rain erode the ridges into a series of hoodoos.
Hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers. Harder or water-resistant layers will be wider and thicker than regular limestone.
Pullouts on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway give visitors many opportunities to look at the Zion Park hoodoos.
Visitors are urged to not approach the base of the hoodoo. According to park officials and geologists, the weight of a visitor can weaken the foundation and thereby the shaft of a hoodoo formation, accelerating the erosion process that will eventually make it fall over or disappear.
