Shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff
This article is about the geological formation. For landslip protection, see
Rock shed .
The larger of the twoRockhouse Cliffs Rock Shelters Arock shelter (alsorockhouse ,crepuscular cave ,bluff shelter , orabri ) is a shallowcave -like opening at the base of a bluff orcliff .
Rock shelter in theLittle Carpathians Rock shelters form because a relatively resistant rockstratum such assandstone has formed acliff or bluff, while a softer stratum likeshale lies just below and is worn away byerosion (fromwater flows orwind ) andweathering (especially that offrost ).[ 1] [ 2] waterfalls [ 3] solutional caves .[ 1]
Rock shelter formation types
Dig of aPaleolithic site in theZagros Mountains , Iran Rock shelters are often importantarchaeologically .[ 1] artifacts . Rock shelters in montane areas can be of use tomountaineers .[ 4]
In westernConnecticut and easternNew York , many rock shelters are known by thecolloquialism "leatherman caves",[ 5] Leatherman over three decades in the late 19th century.
TheCumberland stitchwort (Minuartia cumberlandensis ) is an endangered species of plant which is found only in rock shelters in Kentucky and Tennessee.[ 6]
^a b c "Cave | Definition, Formation, Types, & Facts" .Encyclopedia Britannica . Archived fromthe original on 2025-08-04. Retrieved2025-11-21 .^ Oberender, Pauline; Plan, Lukas (2015-01-15)."Cave development by frost weathering" .Geomorphology . Karst geomorphology: from hydrological functioning to palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.229 :73– 84.doi :10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.07.031 .ISSN 0169-555X . ^ Bader, Gregor D.; Val, Aurore; Gevers, Edwin; Rhodes, Sara E.; Stahl, Nina; Woodborne, Stephan; Will, Manuel (2024-05-01)."Behind the waterfall - Interdisciplinary results from Holley Shelter and their implications for understanding human behavioral patterns at the end of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa" .Quaternary Science Reviews .331 .doi :10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108633 .ISSN 0277-3791 . ^ Straus, Lawrence Guy (1990)."Underground Archaeology: Perspectives on Caves and Rockshelters" .Archaeological Method and Theory .2 :255– 304.ISSN 1043-1691 . ^ CT Museum: Leatherman Caves ^ Center for Plant Conservation Archived 2010-12-15 at theWayback Machine
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