Honeycomb weathering in Koolama Bay, Northwest Australia

© Ralph Lee Hopkins/Shutterstock/Offse

Rock solid views. Not your typical honeycomb

Most chefs can tell you that honeycomb is the result of adding bicarbonate soda to heated sugar. The honeycomb you see today, on the other hand, involves a much longer process – and we definitely don’t recommend trying to eat it. Sights like this one in Western Australia’s Koolama Bay are largely caused from strong winds spraying saltwater onto a permeable rock’s surface. As the salted solution begins to evaporate and crystallise within the rock’s pores, it pries apart mineral grains, leaving it vulnerable to other forms of weathering. The effect can degrade several centimetres in as quickly as 100 years and isn’t limited to natural settings – some buildings have also been affected.