Navajo Sandstone Crossbeds EarthCache
Navajo Sandstone Crossbeds
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Parking for this Earthcache is at a small pull-off on the west side of U.S. Highway 191 at N 40 35.259, W 109 28.172. Follow the trail south next to the highway and up the wash, eventually bearing to the west.
Jackson Point, a huge sandstone monolith, is on your left across the highway as you leave the parking area and walk up the wash. The outcrop on your right is several hundred yards wide and over a mile long. Both of these are outcrops consisting of Navajo Sandstone.
Navajo Sandstone is eolian (windblown) in nature, and was laid down in the Jurassic Period, approximately 180 million years ago. These outcrops are now the remnants of a once-immense field of sand dunes that stretched across much of the southwest. Over time, these dunes were buried, compacted, and lithified (turned to stone).
The coordinates will place you at a near-vertical wall with cross-bedded layers. These were formed while the dunes were still active. The inclined layers were formed when the winds blew the sand, and the sand stacked up on the windward side of the dune. Continued forward climbing movement of dune after dune resulted in the stacking of layer upon layer of cross-bedded sands. After the sand turned to stone, the cross-bed patterns remained.
Using a tape measure or ruler, measure off six inches perpendicular to the cross-bedding. How many layers did you find?
To log this cache:
1) Send me an email stating how many cross-bedded layers you measured at this location.
Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
Chronic, H. 1990. Roadside Geology of Utah.
Hintze, L.F. 2005. Utah's Spectacular Geology, How it Came to Be.
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