IAG Photo Contest – winner October-December 2025
The winner of the IAG Photo Contest in October-December 2025 is Alena Gessert (Slovakia)! Find below her photo and descriptive text.
If you want to participate in the context, find the rules, guidelines and details on the procedure here.
Sandstone pillars – iconic landforms of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
by Alena Gessert (Slovakia)
The Hercules Pillars (Herkulessäulen) are striking sandstone rock towers located in the Saxon Switzerland National Park, eastern Germany, within the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. This region is built predominantly of Upper Cretaceous sandstones that are strongly jointed and horizontally bedded. Long-term denudation, selective weathering, and erosion along fracture systems have led to the separation of narrow rock pillars from the original sandstone plateau. Frost weathering, rainfall infiltration, and gravitational processes play a key role in shaping these landforms. More resistant sandstone layers form widened upper parts, while less resistant strata are preferentially removed, locally producing rock-mushroom morphologies. The Hercules Pillars represent an advanced stage of sandstone landscape dissection and are characteristic features of sandstone “rock cities,” illustrating the effectiveness of differential erosion in temperate climatic conditions.