Last updated: July 30, 2021
Place
Coal Vein Trail Post 9: Clinker
NPS Photo/L. Thomas
Quick Facts
Location:
Coal Vein Trail
Significance:
Trail post 9 on the Coal Vein Guided Nature Trail
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Feel the red rock next to the post. It is locally called scoria, but its true name is clinker. Clinker is created when a burning coal seam bakes the rock layer above it. Baking rock is like putting clay into a kiln to make pottery - the rock hardens as it bakes. Because clinker is one of the hardest rocks in the badlands, it functions as a caprock atop many buttes.