Image: Wingate Sandstone (Lower Jurassic; Independence Monument, Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, Colorado, USA) 1 (23968808032)

Description: Colorado National Monument is a colorful and scenic park just southwest of the town of Grand Junction in western Colorado, USA. It's located in the northeastern part of the Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province, a large section of continental crust that was significant uplifted during the Cenozoic. The rocks in the park are gently folded into a large monocline that has been erosionally dissected into a series of dramatic canyons. The major cliff shown above is the Wingate Sandstone (Middle Jurassic), which is the principal scenery-making unit in the park. It consists of eolian, cross-bedded quartzose sandstones deposited in an ancient sand dune field. This is Independence Monument, a differentially eroded sandstone pinnacle that is popular with climbers. The light-colored, well-bedded unit at the summit of Independence Monument consists of Kayenta Formation fluvial sandstones. Locality: Independence Monument, Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, southwest of the town of Grand Junction, west-central Mesa County, far-western Colorado, USA
Title: Wingate Sandstone (Lower Jurassic; Independence Monument, Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, Colorado, USA) 1 (23968808032)
Credit: Wingate Sandstone (Lower Jurassic; Independence Monument, Monument Canyon, Colorado National Monument, Colorado, USA) 1
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes