Aeolian activity at a giant sandstone weathering pit in arid south-central Utah
Aeolian abrasional, depositional and deflational features indicate exceptionally strong southwesterly winds in a giant sandstone weathering pit in Grand Staircase Escalante Monument. This pit has developed near the summit of a broad, barren high
dome on the Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. The field work involved describing the morphology and morphometry of the pit and groove, including a large variety of streamlined abrasional features. The combination of lags, groove marks, flutes, dedos
and linear, sharp-crested ridges, and shifting dune sand within the pit are evidence of the aeolian activity. These dedos and other streamlined aeolian sculpted host-rock features occur in clusters and typically form in the lee of iron concretions. The dedos
are similar to the controversial stalked blueberries on Mars. A bedrock valley descends to the southwest from the pit and groove, amplifying southwesterly winds.