Top Tweets for #VermilionCliffs

7 months ago

🟥 ⛏️ Edmaier's Secret is a stunning area of eroded Navajo Sandstone formations in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, near Buckskin Gulch on the Utah-Arizona border. ❤️ 🔁 #EdmaiersSecret #VermilionCliffs 🎞 @55archman ▶️ It features delicate, intricate structures including thin fins (often razor-thin plates of rock), knobbly "brain rock" with a convoluted, cauliflower-like texture, layered domes, cones, and angular mounds crossed by perpendicular fins. The sandstone displays vibrant colors and cross-bedding from its ancient dune origins, creating a surreal, otherworldly landscape often compared to lace rock or abstract sculptures. The formations are extremely fragile and span a broad area accessible without a permit (unlike nearby The Wave). ▶️ The Navajo Sandstone originated in the Early Jurassic period (~190 million years ago) as vast wind-blown sand dunes in a desert environment, where sand grains were cemented into rock with distinct cross-bedded layers. Over time, tectonic uplift exposed these layers, and ongoing erosion, primarily from wind, water, and freeze-thaw cycles, sculpted the intricate features. Differential erosion exploited joints, fractures, and varying hardness in the rock, carving thin fins, brain-like textures, and protruding structures over hundreds of thousands to millions of years.

$geologyBits's tweet photo. 🟥 ⛏️ Edmaier's Secret is a stunning area of eroded Navajo Sandstone formations in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, near Buckskin Gulch on the Utah-Arizona border. ❤️ 🔁 #EdmaiersSecret #VermilionCliffs 🎞 @55archman ▶️ It features delicate, intricate structures including thin fins (often razor-thin plates of rock), knobbly "brain rock" with a convoluted, cauliflower-like texture, layered domes, cones, and angular mounds crossed by perpendicular fins. The sandstone displays vibrant colors and cross-bedding from its ancient dune origins, creating a surreal, otherworldly landscape often compared to lace rock or abstract sculptures. The formations are extremely fragile and span a broad area accessible without a permit (unlike nearby The Wave). ▶️ The Navajo Sandstone originated in the Early Jurassic period (~190 million years ago) as vast wind-blown sand dunes in a desert environment, where sand grains were cemented into rock with distinct cross-bedded layers. Over time, tectonic uplift exposed these layers, and ongoing erosion, primarily from wind, water, and freeze-thaw cycles, sculpted the intricate features. Differential erosion exploited joints, fractures, and varying hardness in the rock, carving thin fins, brain-like textures, and protruding structures over hundreds of thousands to millions of years.$

117

Geology Bits of Knowledge

@geologyBits

11 months ago

In Geology ✔️ Mineralogy - Botany #WhitePocket #VermilionCliffs #Geology #Arizona ❤️🔁 Unveiling White Pocket: Arizona’s Geological Masterpiece in Vermilion Cliffs ▶️ Step into an otherworldly landscape where swirling sandstone formations defy imagination. White Pocket, a hidden gem in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, offers a surreal adventure for geologists, photographers, and explorers alike. ▶️ Formation Story White Pocket’s mesmerizing landscape began forming during the Jurassic period, approximately 200 million years ago. Ancient sand dunes saturated with water, were subjected to intense geological forces, likely triggered by seismic activity. According to some geologists a massive sand-slide event, possibly caused by an earthquake, led to the detachment of a large dune segment. This slide caused the sand to ripple and fold, creating the intricate, contorted patterns seen today. Over millennia, erosion and weathering sculpted these formations into the swirling, wave-like structures that make White Pocket a geological wonder. ▶️ Geological Information White Pocket is primarily composed of Navajo sandstone, a formation characteristic of the Colorado Plateau. The dominant white and light grey sandstone, stained with vibrant reds, oranges, and pinks from iron oxide deposits, creates a striking contrast against the surrounding desert. The area’s unique “soft sediment deformation” occurred when the sand was still pliable, before it fully lithified into rock. This process resulted in twisted laminated layers and chaotic formations, including domes, hoodoos, and “brain rocks”, polygonal, cracked surfaces resembling fossilized brains. The pocket itself is a small basin where water collects, shaping potholes and wave-like ridges through erosion. Unlike nearby Coyote Buttes White Pocket’s formations are more rugged and less uniform, adding to its alien-like allure. The landscape spans roughly 100 acres, with elevations ranging from 3,100 to 6,500 feet, and is accessible only by high clearance 4WD vehicles due to the sandy, rugged terrain of the Paria Plateau. ▶️ Interesting Fact White Pocket served as a vital watering hole for ranchers and cattle drives in the late 1800s and early 1900s, thanks to its natural basins that collect rainwater, a rare resource in the arid Arizona Strip. Legends also suggest that outlaws once used its remote location as a hideout. 🔎 Have you explored White Pocket or another geological wonder in the Southwest? ❤️🔁 Like & Share your experience or let us know which natural marvel is on your bucket list! 🎞️ Extraordinary views in white pocket, Arizona! https://t.co/4NIZb7zwuf

geologyBits's tweet photo. In Geology ✔️ Mineralogy - Botany
#WhitePocket #VermilionCliffs #Geology #Arizona

❤️🔁 Unveiling White Pocket: Arizona’s Geological Masterpiece in Vermilion Cliffs

▶️ Step into an otherworldly landscape where swirling sandstone formations defy imagination.

White Pocket, a hidden gem in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, offers a surreal adventure for geologists, photographers, and explorers alike.

▶️ Formation Story
White Pocket’s mesmerizing landscape began forming during the Jurassic period, approximately 200 million years ago.

Ancient sand dunes
saturated with water, were subjected to intense geological forces, likely triggered by seismic activity.

According to some geologists
a massive sand-slide event, possibly caused by an earthquake, led to the detachment of a large dune segment.

This slide caused the sand
to ripple and fold, creating the intricate, contorted patterns seen today.

Over millennia, erosion
and weathering sculpted these formations into the swirling, wave-like structures that make White Pocket a geological wonder.

▶️ Geological Information
White Pocket is primarily composed of Navajo sandstone, a formation characteristic of the Colorado Plateau.

The dominant white
and light grey sandstone, stained with vibrant reds, oranges, and pinks from iron oxide deposits, creates a striking contrast against the surrounding desert.

The area’s unique
“soft sediment deformation” occurred when the sand was still pliable, before it fully lithified into rock.

This process resulted in twisted
laminated layers and chaotic formations, including domes, hoodoos, and “brain rocks”, polygonal, cracked surfaces resembling fossilized brains.

The pocket itself
is a small basin where water collects, shaping potholes and wave-like ridges through erosion.

Unlike nearby Coyote Buttes
White Pocket’s formations are more rugged and less uniform, adding to its alien-like allure.

The landscape spans
roughly 100 acres, with elevations ranging from 3,100 to 6,500 feet, and is accessible only by high clearance 4WD vehicles due to the sandy, rugged terrain of the Paria Plateau.

▶️ Interesting Fact
White Pocket served as a vital watering hole for ranchers and cattle drives in the late 1800s and early 1900s, thanks to its natural basins that collect rainwater, a rare resource in the arid Arizona Strip.

Legends also suggest
that outlaws once used its remote location as a hideout.

🔎 Have you explored White Pocket or another geological wonder in the Southwest?

❤️🔁 Like & Share your experience or let us know which natural marvel is on your bucket list!

🎞️ Extraordinary views in white pocket, Arizona!
https://t.co/4NIZb7zwuf

102

Chris McCloud @cairochris

almost 2 years ago

Turned down aurora chasing last night to get up early for a trip here this morning. Superb day for first time out here. Turned away 7 would-be permit poachers in the 4 hours we were on trail. #TheWave #VermilionCliffs #nationalmonument #arizona #hikeaz #parkchat #publiclands