Capitol Reef - a view north from the Strike Valley Overlook

This view is looking north from the Strike Valley Overlook (accessed from Upper Muley Twist Canyon). On the left is the massive hogback ridge of Navajo Sandstone that stretches to the distant horizon to the vicinity of the Grand Wash and Capitol Wash area (near the park visitor center). In ascending stratigraphic order across the Strike Valley are the poorly-exposed Jurassic San Rafael Group (Carmel Sandstone, Entrada Sandstone, Curtis Formation, and Summerville Formation); The Morrison Formation (also Jurassic age)forms the pink and gray west flank of a low, juniper-covered, sandstone ridge (called Oyster Ridge) consisting of Dakota Sandstone; extending to the right are valley- and slope-forming marine shales and caprock ridge-forming sandstones of the Cretaceous Mancos Shale (Morris and others, 2000).