The geology of the park is the consequence of deposition, uplift and erosion. Island in the Sky is a mesa overlooking the Green River (Colorado River tributary) to the west and the Colorado River to the east, and separated from the Colorado Plateau by "the neck". From the top of the mesa to the Honaker Trail Formation at the canyon river bottom, 150 million years of geologic stratum is exposed. Upheaval Dome consists of the Chinle Formation in the center and the Navajo Sandstone along the rim. The Cedar Mesa Sandstone comprised the Needles District. Canyons comprise the Maze District.
Deposition of sediments
The exposed geology of the Canyonlands area is complex and diverse; 12 formations are exposed in Canyonlands National Park that range in age from Pennsylvanian to Cretaceous. The oldest and perhaps most interesting was created from evaporites deposited from evaporating seawater. Various fossil-rich limestones, sandstones, and shales were deposited by advancing and retreating warm shallow seas through much of the remaining Paleozoic. Eroded sediment from a nearby mountain range later mixed with coastal dune and sand bar deposits. The end of the Paleozoic and the start of the Mesozoic saw the seas retreat from the region until the late Cenozoic. A subdued topography was dominated by flood plains and tidal flats. Now much further inland, the Triassic climate in the region was dry. Vast deserts covered much of that part of North America, except for one period when streams for a time fought the sand dunes. Wetter times returned in the Cretaceous as the area was flooded by the Western Interior Seaway. The uplifting of the Rocky Mountains starting in late Cretaceous - greatly affected the Canyonlands region. Erosion rates increased and further quickened the onset of the ice ages in the Pleistocene. Modern-day erosion occurs at a slower rate.
Hermosa Group A vast sea covered the region in early Pennsylvanian time. A basin in the area called Paradox Basin subsided and a mountain range called the Uncompahgre Mountains was uplifted to the east. Great quantities of seawater were trapped in the subsiding basin and water became increasingly saline in the hot and dry climate. Thousands of feet of evaporites (anhydrite and gypsum then halite) started to build up in the Mid Pennsylvanian and storms occasionally washed sediment from the nearby mountains. Fresh seawater periodically refilled the basin but was never able to flush out the very salty water there (the new water in fact floated on top of the brine). These beds were later lithified to become the Paradox Formation, which in turn is part of the Hermosa Group. Compressed salt beds from the Paradox started to flow plastically later in the Pennsylvanian and probably continued to move from then until the end of the Jurassic. Satellite-based measurements indicate that flow of salt and gypsum continues today to cause flexing and faulting of overlying sedimentary layers. The Paradox is up to 5000 feet (1520 m) thick in places and in the park is exposed at the bottom of Cataract Canyon as rock gypsum inter-bedded with black shale. Upward movement of the Paradox is also a possible theory for the creation of Upheaval Dome, although none of the Paradox is exposed on the dome, the predominant theory being a meteor crater. A warm shallow sea again flooded the region near the end of the Pennsylvanian. Limey oozes, sand, and mud were deposited on top of the salt-filled basin. These sediments became the fossil-rich limestones, sandstones, and shales of the gray-colored Honaker Trail Formation. Outcrops of the Honaker Trail can be seen near the bottom of deep canyons in the park, most notably along the Colorado River. A period of erosion then ensued, creating a break in the geologic record called an unconformity.
Cutler Group Early in the Permian a transgressing (advancing) sea laid down the Halgaito Shale. Coastal lowlands returned to the area after the sea regressed (retreated), forming the Elephant Canyon Formation. These formations can now be seen in Cataract and Elephant Canyons.
The Uncompahgre Mountains (Uncompahgre Plateau) were undergoing extensive erosion during this time. Large alluvial fans filled the basin where it met the range. The resulting Cutler red beds are made of iron-rich arkose sandstone. Underwater sand bars and sand dunes on the coast inter-fingered with the red beds and later became the white-colored cliff-forming Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Today these two competing rock units are exposed in a 4 to 5 mile (6.4 to 8 km) wide belt across the park, stretching from south of the Needles through the Maze and to the Elaterite Basin. Brightly colored oxidized muds were deposited on top of the Cedar Mesa and ranged in color from red to brown. These sediments eventually became the slope-forming Organ Rock Shale formation and can be seen in the Land of Standing Rocks part of the park. Coastal sand dunes and marine sand bars once again became dominant, creating the cross-bedded cliff-forming White Rim Sandstone. It is exposed as a topographic bench 1200 feet (365 m) below the top of Island in the Sky (thus earning its name) and along the White Rim Road. A fossilized offshore sand bar made of the White Cliff Sandstone is also exposed in the Elaterite Basin. A tarry dark-brown oil called elaterite seeps out of the structure, giving the basin its name. The Permian sea retreated, which exposed the land to a long period of erosion and thus created a second unconformity.
Moenkopi and Chinle formations
Clastic red beds were laid down in shallow-water on top of the eroded Paleozoic surface early in the Triassic. These sediments were deposited on flood plains by streams on an expansive lowland that was slightly sloped in the direction of an ocean to the west. Mud built up in tidal flats to become the mudstone of Moenkopi Formation. Examples of this formation, some that still show fossilized ripple marks and mudcracks, can be seen in the northern and western parts of the park. Another period of erosion returned, creating a third unconformity. The brightly colored shales of the slope-forming Chinle Formation were laid down on top of this eroded surface. Petrified wood from the Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle is sometimes found at the base of Chinle slopes.
Glen Canyon Group
The Glen Canyon Group of formations includes (from oldest - lowest - to youngest) the
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