Capitol Reef - red and gray shale of the Morrison Formation

Red and gray shale of the Morrison Formation formed from volcanic ash deposited on a broad coastal floodplain environment during the Late Jurassic Period (between about 148-155 million years ago) (Blakey and Ranney, 2008; Turner and Peterson, 1999). The sand beds in the foreground probably represent old stream channel deposits. When the sediments were originally deposited they were nearly flat lying, but the tectonic forces that shaped the Waterpocket Fold in the Laramide Orogeny of the early Tertiary Period resulted in the rock layers dipping steeply to the left. These outcrops are located along the Notom-Bullfrog Road in southern Capitol Reef National Park.