The sandstone of the Roraima massif is hard enough that it does not erode gradually across its face.

Instead, erosion operates primarily at the cliff base and along fractures and joints in the rock.

Water infiltrates cracks, freezes and expands, and breaks off large blocks.

The cliff retreats not by gradual slope erosion but by the wholesale collapse of large sections, maintaining the vertical character of the face.

Rain also plays a major role, and Roraima receives an extraordinary amount of it.

The summit of Roraima is one of the wettest places in the world, receiving on the order of 4,000 millimeters or more of precipitation per year — in some estimates considerably more.