They consist of tall cone-shaped pillars made of clay, with a boulder resting on top.
When the rainy season starts, these slopes erode away.
It can take hundreds to thousands of years for these pyramids to form.
Photo credit:xv15tau/Flickr
The pillars continue to erode, but more slowly then the rest of the terrain.
At some point in the future, the columns will lose the strength to hold the large rock overhead.
Once the boulder falls from the peak, the column will erode away rapidly.
Earth pyramids are unique to South Tyrol, but fairly widespread.
The best ones are located on the Ritten, a plateau not far from Bozen in northern Italy.
Earth pyramids are also found at Platten near Percha in the Puster Valley.
