Neha Patil (Editor)

White Rim Sandstone

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Type
  
Geological formation

Primary
  
Sandstone

White Rim Sandstone httpswwwnpsgovcanylearnnatureimageswhite

Overlies
  
Organ Rock Formation, southeast Utah; Organ Rock and Toroweap Formation, Circle Cliffs

Thickness
  
500 feet (150 m) approximate maximum

Region
  
central & east-Colorado Plateau south and southeast Utah

Extent
  
Circle Cliffs, west of Waterpocket Fold; Moab Utah region

Underlies
  
Kaibab Limestone, Circle Cliffs, Utah

White Rim Sandstone is a sandstone geologic formation located in southeastern Utah.

Contents

Geology

It is the continental geologic formation deposited at the time of marine transgressions during the Early to Middle Permian Period.

Toroweap Formation

The coeval Toroweap Formation was laid down under marine conditions along the southwest margin of the North American continent and is found in northwest Arizona layered between Coconino Sandstone and the Kaibab Formation. The Toroweap is mostly from the Grand Canyon and just eastwards to Lee's Ferry-(Colorado River, Grand Canyon), south to the Verde Valley region (Sedona, Sycamore Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon), but the Toroweap also occurs within sections in southeast Utah, and also became overlain by the Kaibab Formation, specifically at the Circle Cliffs, west of the Waterpocket Fold.

Geography

The White Rim Sandstone typically occurs above the Organ Rock Formation in southeast Utah, which sits upon the extensive Cedar Mesa Sandstone in southeast Utah.

Occurrences in Utah

Moab, Utah is located in southeast Utah, about 25 miles (40 km) west of the Colorado border. The Circle Cliffs lie about 90 miles (145 km) southwest from Moab, and east of Escalante and Boulder, Utah-(Utah State Route 12). The Circle Cliffs are located in the northeast of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The cliffs also extend north-northwest adjacent the west perimeter of the Waterpocket Fold, Capitol Reef National Park. The fold is traversed by Burr Trail Road-Straton Road which has views toward the Circle Cliffs, southward, or westward.

The White Rim Road traverses the White Rim Sandstone formation between the base of the Island in the Sky mesa and the Colorado and Green Rivers within Canyonlands National Park.

  • Circle Cliffs, (extreme south)-southeast-Utah
  • Moenkopi Formation
  • Toroweap Formation-White Rim Sandstone
  • Organ Rock Formation
  • Cedar Mesa Sandstone
  • Moab, Utah — W. Colorado
  • Moenkopi Formation
  • White Rim Sandstone
  • Organ Rock Formation
  • Cedar Mesa Sandstone
  • References

    White Rim Sandstone Wikipedia