Pancake Rocks New Zealand.. Bernard Spragg photography

Pancake Rocks has irregular chasms and ridges, typical of limestone country. The layers of resistant bands of limestone are separated by softer, thin, mud-rich layers. This type of layering, found in limestones worldwide, is called stylobedding. Although the origin of stylobedding has been debated, it is mostly agreed that this layering is not original bedding, but a secondary feature caused by compaction. Erosion by water, wind and salt spray near the coast has etched out the stylobedding, forming the distinctive ‘pancakes’.