Bryce Canyon Calcite from Bryce Canyon U.S.A. Large size stones.

Bryce Canyon is a National Park located in the southwestern part of the American state of Utah. Bryce Canyon is famous for its unique geological rock formations. Due to the interacting forces of freezing and thawing, the limestone and sandstone formations are slowly eroded to form the so-called hoodoos. The eroded tops create beautiful formations that appear very mysterious in the sunlight. The sun creates shades of color on the rocks. The colors vary from pink to orange. It is part of the Grand Staircase. Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon are formed by two processes. The first process, frost weathering, exerts its influence mainly in winter. Water seeps into small cracks in the rock. When the water freezes, it expands, causing the crack to widen. The ice melts, more water flows into the crack and the water freezes again. Cracks can become so large in this way that pieces of rock break off. The mineral calcite (also called calcite) consists mainly of the salt calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and is one of the most common minerals in the earth's crust. Calcium carbonate is formed when soluble calcium ions come into contact with CO2 (carbon dioxide forms a carbonate ion when there is a positive ion in a solution). That's where the second process continues: rain takes the pieces of rock broken off by the freezing and thawing of water into cracks along. The rain also contributes to the erosion of the rock because rainwater is somewhat acidic. Limestone, which makes up hoodoos, dissolves in it. These processes have created these rock formations, but will also cause their decomposition. In Bryce Canyon the erosion rate is about 0.6-1.3 meters per 100 years. The park takes its name from Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce, who lived at the base of Bryce Canyon from 1875 to 1880.