Arches National Park, Moab, Utah
This place is a rock enthusiasts playground. Absolutely gorgeous examples of different formations of rock. Particularly noticeable on Balanced Rock, the base is Dewey Bridge (Carmel formation) sandstone which is water deposited, and the cap is Slick Rock (Entrada formation) which is wind deposited (eolian). But the entire park is stunning exposed Jurassic (mainly) rock.
A fun fact about Dewey Bridge sandstone, it’s very convoluted in the area. There are large waves and deformations in it. There are a few explanations for this, but my favorite is that in the late Jurassic, just after the Dewey Bridge sand had been set down, a meteor struck (forming Upheaval Dome) and the shockwaves forced the still pliable sand into the strange wavy shapes before it hardened into rock. Apparently the convolutions get worse and more drastic the closer you get to Upheaval Dome (we didn’t go there, so I can’t say for sure)
Rock formations are named in the captions.
