The Geologic Story of Canyonlands National Park — John Shaqi
The Geologic Story of Canyonlands National ParkLohman, Stanley William
Science
The Geologic Story of Canyonlands National Park
Lohman, Stanley William
Canyonlands National Park (Utah) -- Guidebooks; Geology -- Utah -- Canyonlands National Park -- Guidebooks
Two miles north of the campground we cross a minor drainage leading
northeastward into the north fork of Trough Springs Canyon. The B.L.M.
plans a road down this canyon to Kane Springs Canyon, 1,100 feet below,
where it will connect both with a scenic drive to Moab, the lower part
of which is paved, and with the jeep trail going west over Hurrah Pass
(fig. 30) and thence south along the eastern benches of the canyons of
the Colorado River to the Needles district of the park. E. Neal Hinrichs
(U.S. Geol. Survey, oral commun. Feb. 16, 1973) reported specimens of
blue celestite (strontium sulfate, SrSO₄) and barite (barium sulfate,
BaSO₄) in the Cutler Formation at a point where a sharp bend of this
jeep trail crosses a fault, or fracture (fig. 56), in the northeast fork
of Lockhart Canyon (shown in fig. 1 as the easternmost loop of the trail
about 6 miles northeast of Lockhart Basin). Farther south, the trail
swings west of Lockhart Basin, whose center exposes part of a syncline
(fig. 28).
[Illustration: SYNCLINE IN CORE OF LOCKHART BASIN, near Needles
Overlook. Dish-shaped roof is Wingate Sandstone, partly bleached;
sloping sides are Chinle Formation; dark sloping ledge at left
middle ground is Moss Back Member of Chinle resting on Moenkopi
Formation. Photograph by E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 28)]
U-3 LOOP
Two and a half miles farther north, or about 2 miles south of Anticline
Overlook, a short road leads to the west and entirely around a small
conical butte of the Navajo Sandstone. This new circular drive has not
yet been formally named and is simply called the U-3 loop, as designated
in the surveyor’s notebook. It affords splendid views to the west and is
to be equipped with picnic tables. Looking west (fig. 29) we see a
W-shaped loop of the Colorado River, Dead Horse Point on the right
skyline, and Island in the Sky on the distant skyline. The strata
curving over Shafer dome appear in the right middle background.
[Illustration: VIEW WESTWARD FROM U-3 LOOP. Dead Horse Point on
right skyline, Island in the Sky capped by Navajo Sandstone in
extreme distance, Kayenta Formation in foreground at left. Cliffs
topping ridge at left are Wingate Sandstone protected by caprock of
the Kayenta Formation; red slopes beneath cliffs are Chinle
Formation, with dark ledge of Moss Back Member at base; steep slopes
and ledges beneath are Moenkopi Formation, lower part of which is
Hoskinnini Tongue; reddish gentle slopes below are Cutler Formation;
nearly flat benches above Colorado River are Rico Formation, with
Shafer limestone at top. (Fig. 29)]
ANTICLINE OVERLOOK
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