Banded Sandstone Domes

Banded Sandstone Domes is an original illustration set in Purnululu, Western Australia, Australia. It lies in the tropics, where the climate is hot semi-arid steppe.

A maze of rounded orange sandstone domes rises from semi-arid savanna, each beehive form wrapped in narrow charcoal-grey horizontal bands. Spinifex grass and pale eucalyptus occupy the sandy gaps, while steep-sided chasms cut between clustered towers beneath a spacious tropical dry-season sky.

Why are these beehive sandstone towers wrapped in dark bands?

Because alternating surface conditions support dark cyanobacterial crusts on some sandstone layers while iron-rich, faster-drying layers remain orange, weathering reveals strong horizontal stripes. Jointing and water erosion then isolate and round the rock into steep cones over millions of years. The interaction of biology, layered sandstone, seasonal runoff, and savanna climate therefore produces Purnululu's distinctive banded beehive terrain.

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