• Spires of Cedar Mesa sandstone in Chesler Park (Needles District)

    Canyonlands

    National Park Utah

Moenkopi Formation

photo: Aerial view of Murphy Hogback on the White Rim Road. This mesa is in the Moenkopi Formation.
Aerial view of Murphy Hogback on the White Rim Road. This mesa is in the Moenkopi Formation.
NPS Photo by Neal Herbert
 

Deposited
Triassic Period (208 to 245 million years ago)

Depositional Environment
Tropical tidal flat

Appearance
Dark red-brown, ledge-forming sandstones and siltstones

Example
Irregular slopes with ledges just above the White Rim Road at the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands.

  • Interactive Geologic Atlas Interactive Geologic Atlas

    Flash animations manage to simplify the story of Canyonlands. Read More

Did You Know?

Detail of the Great Gallery pictograph panel

Some of the rock art in Horseshoe Canyon was painted over 3,000 years ago. Now known as "Barrier Canyon" style rock art, it was painted by nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers that roamed throughout the southwest. More...