Crossbanding at Walnut Canyon
Walnut Canyon National Monument (Hopi: Wupatupqa) is a US National Monument located about 16 km south-east of downtown Flagstaff, AR., near Interstate 40. It was proclaimed a national monument on 30 November 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson to preserve the ancient cliff dwellings which I was stood alongside when I took this shot. Imagine going down cliffs like those seen to get your water from the canyon bottom every day...
The canyon rim elevation is 2,040m; the canyon's floor is 110m lower. A 1.4 km long loop trail descends 56m into the canyon, passing 25 cliff dwelling rooms constructed by the Sinagua, a pre-Columbian cultural group that lived in Walnut Canyon from about 1100 to 1250 AD. Other contemporary habitations of the Sinagua people are preserved in the nearby Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments.
The canyon lies on the Colorado Plateau and cuts through the Permian Kaibab Limestone, which exposes layers of the Toroweap Formation and Coconino Sandstone beneath. The Kaibab formation also forms the rim of the Grand Canyon. Crossbedding (as clearly seen above) is present in the Coconino Sandstone.
The shaded, north-facing walls (seen above with a scattering of snow on the ground in the shaded area to the right of the rock feature) are covered in fir and ponderosa pine trees. The sunny, south-facing slopes have agaves and several species of cactus including opuntia, echinocereus and cholla. The floor of the canyon is home to several species of walnut trees, for which the canyon is named.
Crossbanding at Walnut Canyon
Walnut Canyon National Monument (Hopi: Wupatupqa) is a US National Monument located about 16 km south-east of downtown Flagstaff, AR., near Interstate 40. It was proclaimed a national monument on 30 November 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson to preserve the ancient cliff dwellings which I was stood alongside when I took this shot. Imagine going down cliffs like those seen to get your water from the canyon bottom every day...
The canyon rim elevation is 2,040m; the canyon's floor is 110m lower. A 1.4 km long loop trail descends 56m into the canyon, passing 25 cliff dwelling rooms constructed by the Sinagua, a pre-Columbian cultural group that lived in Walnut Canyon from about 1100 to 1250 AD. Other contemporary habitations of the Sinagua people are preserved in the nearby Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle national monuments.
The canyon lies on the Colorado Plateau and cuts through the Permian Kaibab Limestone, which exposes layers of the Toroweap Formation and Coconino Sandstone beneath. The Kaibab formation also forms the rim of the Grand Canyon. Crossbedding (as clearly seen above) is present in the Coconino Sandstone.
The shaded, north-facing walls (seen above with a scattering of snow on the ground in the shaded area to the right of the rock feature) are covered in fir and ponderosa pine trees. The sunny, south-facing slopes have agaves and several species of cactus including opuntia, echinocereus and cholla. The floor of the canyon is home to several species of walnut trees, for which the canyon is named.