1.
The cave-like depressions in the side of the rock are created by water. Rain falling on the top of the mesa enters cracks in the rock, runs down the cracks (called joints), and comes out of small openings on the side of the mesa. The water seeping out of the opening gradually wears away the rock. The freezing of the water in winter and thawing in summer helps to weaken the sandstone.
The tall trees in the vicinity of this stake are ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). They are readily identified by the needles, which grow two or three to a cluster. These trees grow in well-watered, protected areas within the Monument. The larger ones are somewhere between 200 and 300 years old.