The Clearing
Some of the best light occurs just as the storm clears and sunlight breaks through the clouds. Such was the case here at the edge of Monument Basin (aka Standing Rocks Basin) in Canyonlands as an overnight winter storm ended. The view also looks towards the thousand foot rise up to Junction Butte, named for the intersection of the Green and Colorado Rivers just to the south.
Monument Basin is marked by numerous pillars composed of layered reddish Organ Rock Shale, deposited around 250 million years ago by streams and estuaries of a shallow ocean. The pillars are (or were at one time) capped by more resistant White Rim Sandstone (bulbous white rock on the right), 245 million year old sand dunes, that protect the softer shale below it from erosion. The pillars are between 200 to 300 feet tall, and most have actually been climbed by adventurous rock climbers.
The Clearing
Some of the best light occurs just as the storm clears and sunlight breaks through the clouds. Such was the case here at the edge of Monument Basin (aka Standing Rocks Basin) in Canyonlands as an overnight winter storm ended. The view also looks towards the thousand foot rise up to Junction Butte, named for the intersection of the Green and Colorado Rivers just to the south.
Monument Basin is marked by numerous pillars composed of layered reddish Organ Rock Shale, deposited around 250 million years ago by streams and estuaries of a shallow ocean. The pillars are (or were at one time) capped by more resistant White Rim Sandstone (bulbous white rock on the right), 245 million year old sand dunes, that protect the softer shale below it from erosion. The pillars are between 200 to 300 feet tall, and most have actually been climbed by adventurous rock climbers.