Monumental Cracks
There are several places at Monument Rocks in western Kansas where the soft chalk formations can be seen. The ultimate fate of this exposed chalk is clear to see here. Monument Rocks is listed as one of the eight wonders of Kansas. It is not easy to fully appreciate all the wonders in my state, since two of them are below ground level: www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/
The chalk was deposited during the Cretaceous Period of geologic history, about 80 million years ago, when the central interior of the U.S. was covered by a seaway. The several hundred feet deep water contained single-celled animals that drifted to the sea floor for eons, creating a mucky ooze. This material was perfect for trapping and preserving the remains of animals that lived in that ocean, such as fish, turtles, sharks, swimming reptiles called mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, swimming birds, gliding reptiles called pterosaurs, as well as invertebrate animals such as giant clams. Today the chalk beds routinely give up these fossils. Probably the best-known fossil from these beds is the famous "fish-within-a-fish" on display at the Sternberg Museum in Hays.
Source and more info: www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/8wondersofkansas-view.php?...
Monumental Cracks
There are several places at Monument Rocks in western Kansas where the soft chalk formations can be seen. The ultimate fate of this exposed chalk is clear to see here. Monument Rocks is listed as one of the eight wonders of Kansas. It is not easy to fully appreciate all the wonders in my state, since two of them are below ground level: www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/
The chalk was deposited during the Cretaceous Period of geologic history, about 80 million years ago, when the central interior of the U.S. was covered by a seaway. The several hundred feet deep water contained single-celled animals that drifted to the sea floor for eons, creating a mucky ooze. This material was perfect for trapping and preserving the remains of animals that lived in that ocean, such as fish, turtles, sharks, swimming reptiles called mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, swimming birds, gliding reptiles called pterosaurs, as well as invertebrate animals such as giant clams. Today the chalk beds routinely give up these fossils. Probably the best-known fossil from these beds is the famous "fish-within-a-fish" on display at the Sternberg Museum in Hays.
Source and more info: www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/8wondersofkansas-view.php?...