A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. Another term is rockhouse. Cliffs on the banks of the River Severn, near Bristol, England In geography, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. ...

Rock shelter

Rock shelters form because a rock stratum such as sandstone that's resistant to erosion and weathering has formed a cliff or bluff, but a softer stratum, more subject to erosion and weathering, lies just below the resistant stratum, and thus undercuts the cliff. Rockhouse in Ohio This is a scan from a slide of a rockhouse in eastern Rome Township, Athens County, Ohio, taken by myself. ... Rockhouse in Ohio This is a scan from a slide of a rockhouse in eastern Rome Township, Athens County, Ohio, taken by myself. ... Our earth is composed of three main types of rock, each having been formed in its own special way. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... Weathering is the process of decomposition and/or disintegration of rocks and their minerals in situ, that is, in place. ...

This same phenomenon commonly occurs at waterfalls, and, indeed, many rock shelters are found under waterfalls. Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation. ...

Rock shelters are often important archeologically. Because rock shelters form natural shelters from the weather, primitive humans often used them as living-places, and left behind trash, tools, and other artifacts. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

See also

• Geology