yardang
Sign in to savethumb|right|300px|A yardang near Meadow, Texas () (USDA photo). thumb|right|300px|Yardangs in the Qaidam Desert, [[Qinghai Province, China.]]
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Names
- Description
- Formation
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|right|300px|A yardang near Meadow, Texas () (USDA photo). thumb|right|300px|Yardangs in the Qaidam Desert, [[Qinghai Province, China.]]
A yardang is a streamlined protuberance carved from bedrock or any consolidated or semiconsolidated material by the dual action of wind abrasion by dust and sand and deflation (the removal of loose material by wind turbulence). Yardangs become elongated features typically three or more times longer than wide, and when viewed from above, resemble the hull of a boat. Facing the wind is a steep, blunt face that gradually gets lower and narrower toward the lee end. Yardangs are formed by wind erosion, typically of an originally flat surface formed from areas of harder and softer material. The soft material is eroded and removed by the wind, and the harder material remains. The resulting pattern of yardangs is therefore a combination of the original rock distribution, and the fluid mechanics of the air flow and resulting pattern of erosion.