Hoodoo (geology)
tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland
A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations.
Hoodoos range in size from the height of an average human to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and softer rock layers. Minerals deposited within different rock types can cause hoodoos to have different colors throughout their height.
Etymology
In certain regions of western North America these rocky structures are called hoodoos, a name that comes from a Southern Paiute word, oo’doo, which implies something that inspires fear. Hoodoos are featured in some traditional legends of Indigenous peoples of the North American Southwest. For example, hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park were considered petrified remains of ancient beings who had been sanctioned for misbehavior. Despite the matching spelling, the term for these rock formations is not related to Hoodoo spirituality.
The public source identifies “Hoodoo (geology)” as tall, thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of an arid drainage basin or badland. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hoodoo, geology and tall.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q854550. The Library of Congress control number is sh00006247. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hoodoo (geology)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.