I have run across many pictures of rocks that look like almost perfectly carved columns. For example: the Twyfelfontein Organ Pipes, the Basaltic Prisms of Santa Maria Regla, and the waterfall Svartifoss (pictures included on this link: http://www.touropia.com/natural-rock-formations/). All of the rocks I have seen that look like this have been basaltic. Is this shape caused more by how the rock originally formed, its mineralogy, or how the rock was eroded?
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You are asking too much with one question - each formation has it own story & one simple answer doesn't fit all of them. The columnar structure of basaltic organ pipes is due to there mineralogy & how they cooled. Wave Rock is an exposed granite dome that has eroded by water running of the top of the dome & largely down one side of the dome to form its current shape - it's much smaller that pictures of it suggest. The sedimentary formations & pillars have their appearances due to erosion. – Fred Jan 29 '17 at 06:43
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1For the columnar basalt, see Giant's Causeway geology and Basalt vs. columnar basalt. As this is basically the same rock formation (just elsewhere in the world) I am voting to close this as duplicate. – Gimelist Jan 29 '17 at 06:46
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3TpGtUZEjc – MaxW Jan 29 '17 at 18:36
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081216104325.htm – MaxW Jan 29 '17 at 18:45