Between Saratoga Gap Trail and Ridge Trail: a tafoni cliffside
tafoni_cliffside

Above Saratoga Gap Trail between the Saratago-Ridge Connector Trail and Russell Point

According to the Castle Rock State Park brochure, the sandstone outcrops in the park are elevated shelf deposits, which formed 30 to 40 million years ago as submarine fan deposits on the continental shelf. While the Goat Rock sandstone abounds in differently sized, networked tafoni, the cliffside outcrops you can see from the Saratoga Gap Trail in the Varian Peak area features distinct, non-networked tafoni—a towering rock fortress with apparent portholes.
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