Freeze-thaw weathering

Frozen water occupies a volume 10% greater than when it is in its liquid state.

For this simple reason, water that infiltrates faults or fissures is able to break even the hardest rock during  several cycles of freeze-thaw.  Rocks that have been damaged in this way display breakages that are clean and straight.

This type of degradation of rock is common in mountain regions, where the temperature oscillates regularly around 0° C.