oney com bed . ▁Also , ▁the ▁tall ▁sp ires ▁of ▁De ▁Ch elle y ▁Sand stone ▁at ▁Monument ▁Valley ▁in ▁Ut ah ▁are ▁un mark ed ▁by ▁such ▁weather ing . ▁In ▁contrast , ▁the ▁Az te c ▁Sand stone ▁of ▁The ▁Valley ▁of ▁Fire ▁in ▁Nev ada ▁exhib its ▁del icate ▁and ▁w ides p read ▁h oney comb ▁and ▁other ▁ca vern ous ▁weather ing . ▁The ▁difference ▁may ▁lie ▁in ▁contrast ing ▁patterns ▁of ▁p ear me ability ▁and ▁joint ing ▁and ▁resulting ▁variations ▁in ▁the ▁flow ▁of ▁waters ▁through ▁these ▁sand stone . ▁ ▁C ause ▁Many ▁explan ations ▁have ▁been ▁proposed ▁for ▁h oney comb ▁and ▁other ▁ca vern ous ▁weather ing . ▁These ▁explan ations ▁include ▁marine ▁ab ras ion ; ▁wind ▁cor ros ion ; ▁mechanical ▁weather ing ▁resulting ▁from ▁short - term ▁temperature ▁variations ; ▁chemical ▁weather ing ▁of ▁the ▁interior ▁of ▁the ▁rock ▁( core - soft ening ) ▁under ▁a ▁protect ive ▁cr ust ▁( case - hard ening ) ▁followed ▁by ▁mechanical ▁removal ▁of ▁the ▁soft ened ▁material ; ▁bi oge och em ical ▁weather ing ▁by ▁l ich ens ; ▁temperature ▁variations ▁acting ▁on ▁salt ▁eff l ores c ence ▁in ▁coast al ▁regions ; ▁and ▁salt ▁weather ing . ▁Most ▁commonly , ▁research ers ▁have ▁advoc ated ▁salt ▁weather ing ▁as ▁the ▁primary ▁explanation ▁for ▁the ▁formation ▁of ▁h oney comb ▁weather ing . ▁Currently , ▁it ▁is ▁considered ▁to ▁be ▁poly gen etic ▁in ▁origin ; ▁being ▁the