Exfoliating Navajo Sandstone pattern, Jurassic sand dune, Capitol Reef NP, Utah, USA.

Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.

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Filename: 1503SW-0282_Navajo-sandstone-pattern.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 6000x4000 / 10.4MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; PhotoBest abstract desert nature outdoor pattern ArtandCreativeMarketing.com
Contained in galleries: 2015 Mar 3-Apr 8: favorites UT, CO hikes, USA: Utah favorites, Utah: Capitol Reef National Park, 2015 Mar 3-Apr 8: all: Utah, Colorado hikes, USA: Southwest favorites (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada), Highlights 2015

Navajo Sandstone (fossilized cross-bedded sand dune of the Jurassic period) exfoliates into a pattern along Rim Overlook Trail in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, USA. Iron oxides (hematite and goethite) bled through the Navajo sandstone layers to paint the rock yellow, orange, and brown. Capitol Reef National Park is centered upon the 100-mile-long Waterpocket Fold, the steep eastern limb of the Circle Cliffs Uplift, raised in Late Cretaceous time, during the Laramide Orogeny. Pressure caused by the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the North American Plate along the west coast caused several huge folds like this in southeast Utah, USA.