THESE DAZZLING ROCK FORMATIONS STAND WHERE DINOSAURS ONCE ROAMED
When the sea and river dried up it left a 1400-foot layer of sandstone, mudstone, shale and coal. Layers of coal are still readily visible, but a significant amount of it was consumed millions of years ago by a fire that lasted for centuries. How do we know this? The “Clinkers.” A “clinker” looks like a pottery shard or a chunk of brick, depending on size. They vary from pale to bright red. The name “clinker” comes from the sound they make when you walk on them. Basically, the layer of clay that accumulated on top of the coal was fired like a ceramic vase at high heat for an extended period of time.
Geologists aren’t sure what caused the fire, but there are a lot of volcanoes nearby and, at some point, one or more of them deposited a thick layer of ash. The increasingly arid region took on an even more stark appearance, because volcanic ash erodes quickly and does not retain water, resulting in sparse vegetation and limited wildlife. All of it was entombed in layers of sandstone where it remained largely undisturbed for millions of years. However, underground a metamorphosis was happening. Water seeped through the ash, depositing lime that gradually accumulated, becoming limestone tubes. The caps of many of the gray hoodoos are limestone.
Whereas igneous protrusions are a common source of stone pillars and pedestals, in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness the pillars and hoodoos exist because everything around and below them eroded. The plains surrounding the Bisti are about 6,500 feet above sea level, but the badlands lie 200-400 feet below the plains. What you are viewing at the Bisti is what lies under the surface. Wind and water peeled back layers over millions of years, forming the surreal landscape of hoodoos and spires.
Geologists aren’t sure what caused the fire, but there are a lot of volcanoes nearby and, at some point, one or more of them deposited a thick layer of ash. The increasingly arid region took on an even more stark appearance, because volcanic ash erodes quickly and does not retain water, resulting in sparse vegetation and limited wildlife. All of it was entombed in layers of sandstone where it remained largely undisturbed for millions of years. However, underground a metamorphosis was happening. Water seeped through the ash, depositing lime that gradually accumulated, becoming limestone tubes. The caps of many of the gray hoodoos are limestone.
Whereas igneous protrusions are a common source of stone pillars and pedestals, in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness the pillars and hoodoos exist because everything around and below them eroded. The plains surrounding the Bisti are about 6,500 feet above sea level, but the badlands lie 200-400 feet below the plains. What you are viewing at the Bisti is what lies under the surface. Wind and water peeled back layers over millions of years, forming the surreal landscape of hoodoos and spires.
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26 February 2023
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