Capitol Reef - a view northeast from the Strike Valley Overlook

This is a view looking northeast from the Strike Valley Overlook showing a more complete Cretaceous section than the previous image. The Mancos Shale forms the central grassy portion of the Strike Valley. The first high sandstone ridge or the right is the Emery Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale (formation); this is stratigraphically overlain by the Masuk Member, the uppermost unit of the Mancos Shale. The massive, caprock sandstone on the right horizon is the Mesaverde Formation, the youngest Cretaceous-age sedimentary unit in the region.