A Tooth of the Comb
Comb Ridge is a remarkable wrinkle in Earth’s crust (monocline) that extends for 80 miles in southeastern Utah and Arizona, between the Abajo Mountains (snowy peaks in the photo) and Kayenta, just south of Monument Valley. The fold has eroded away on its western edge (left side here) by several washes, including Comb Wash visible on the left side of the photo, leaving a steep escarpment composed of red sandstone in the Kayenta formation (about a 500 foot drop here). The yellowish sandstone on the right side of the photo is Navajo sandstone, and further to the right are the ridges above Butler wash. The gash in the valley below is the Comb Wash road, and the mesa to the left of it is Cedar Mesa.
This area is extremely rich with archeological sites and raw scenic beauty, much of it contained within the Bears Ears National Monument. While some may regret the attention the designation of Bears Ears brought to the area’s scenic and historic resources along with an associated increase in visitation, the monument has continued protection for cultural and biological resources. Unfortunately a nearby 400 acre chunk of Comb Ridge that would have been in the monument was sold to a private company by the state of Utah 4 years ago. The parcel contains the remnants of the Hole in the Rock road blazed by Mormon settlers in the late 1870’s. Further to the west an area formerly within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been slated for coal mining. Not only would mining negatively impact the scenic value of the land, it would also adversely affect air quality in areas downwind from it, including Bears Ears. One can only hope that the current glut of fossil fuels will mean this development will no longer be economically viable.
A Tooth of the Comb
Comb Ridge is a remarkable wrinkle in Earth’s crust (monocline) that extends for 80 miles in southeastern Utah and Arizona, between the Abajo Mountains (snowy peaks in the photo) and Kayenta, just south of Monument Valley. The fold has eroded away on its western edge (left side here) by several washes, including Comb Wash visible on the left side of the photo, leaving a steep escarpment composed of red sandstone in the Kayenta formation (about a 500 foot drop here). The yellowish sandstone on the right side of the photo is Navajo sandstone, and further to the right are the ridges above Butler wash. The gash in the valley below is the Comb Wash road, and the mesa to the left of it is Cedar Mesa.
This area is extremely rich with archeological sites and raw scenic beauty, much of it contained within the Bears Ears National Monument. While some may regret the attention the designation of Bears Ears brought to the area’s scenic and historic resources along with an associated increase in visitation, the monument has continued protection for cultural and biological resources. Unfortunately a nearby 400 acre chunk of Comb Ridge that would have been in the monument was sold to a private company by the state of Utah 4 years ago. The parcel contains the remnants of the Hole in the Rock road blazed by Mormon settlers in the late 1870’s. Further to the west an area formerly within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been slated for coal mining. Not only would mining negatively impact the scenic value of the land, it would also adversely affect air quality in areas downwind from it, including Bears Ears. One can only hope that the current glut of fossil fuels will mean this development will no longer be economically viable.