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Rock Shelter

 
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A rock shelter (also known as a rockhouse, crepuscular cave, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them....
.

Rock shelters form because a rock
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
 stratum such as sandstone that is resistant to erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 and weathering
Weathering

Weathering is the decomposition of earth Rock , soils and their minerals through direct contact with the planet's atmosphere. Weathering occurs in situ, or "with no movement", and thus should not be confused with erosion, which involves the movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, wind, and gravity....
 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.

Many rock shelters are found under waterfalls.

Rock shelters are often important archaeologically
Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or arch?ology is the science that studies Homo cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, Artifact , features, Biofact s, and cultural landscape....
.






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A rock shelter (also known as a rockhouse, crepuscular cave, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them....
.

Rockhouse
Rock shelters form because a rock
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
 stratum such as sandstone that is resistant to erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 and weathering
Weathering

Weathering is the decomposition of earth Rock , soils and their minerals through direct contact with the planet's atmosphere. Weathering occurs in situ, or "with no movement", and thus should not be confused with erosion, which involves the movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice, wind, and gravity....
 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.

Many rock shelters are found under waterfalls.

Rock shelters are often important archaeologically
Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or arch?ology is the science that studies Homo cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, Artifact , features, Biofact s, and cultural landscape....
. Because rock shelters form natural shelters from the weather, prehistoric humans often used them as living-places, and left behind debris, tools, and other artifact
Artifact (archaeology)

In archaeology, an artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human archaeological culture, and often one later recovered by some archaeological endeavor....
s. In mountainous areas the shelters can also be important for mountaineers
Mountaineering

Mountaineering is the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains. It is also sometimes known as alpinism, particularly in Europe....
. In western Connecticut
Connecticut

Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....
 and eastern New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, many rock shelters are known by the colloquialism
Colloquialism

A colloquialism is an expression not used in formal Speech communication, writing or paralinguistics. Colloquialisms are also sometimes referred to collectively as "colloquial language"....
 "leatherman caves", as they were inhabited by the Leatherman
Leatherman (vagabond)

The Leatherman was a vagabond famous for his handmade leather suit of clothes who traveled a circuit between the Connecticut River and Hudson Rivers from about 1856-1889....
 over three decades in the late 1800s.

See also

  • Mesa Verde
    Mesa Verde

    Mesa Verde may refer to:*Mesa Verde National Park, a national park in Montezuma County, Colorado, U.S.*Mesa Verde Middle School , a middle school in Moorpark, California, California...
  • Walnut Canyon
  • Gatecliff Rockshelter
    Gatecliff Rockshelter

    The Gatecliff Rockshelter is a prehistoric rock shelter located in Nevada, United States, where people camped over a period of 7,000 years. It was discovered by David Hurst Thomas in 1970....
  • Roc-aux-Sorciers
    Roc-aux-Sorciers

    Roc-aux-Sorciers is an Upper Paleolithic rock shelter site dating to the mid-Magdalenian cultural stage, ca 14000 Before Present, made famous by its relief wall carvings....