Cedar Mesa Sandstone

Cedar Mesa Sandstone Stratigraphic range: Early Permian, 286–245Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Druid Arch in Canyonlands National Park, an eroded fin of Cedar Mesa Sandstone
Type	Geological member[1]
Unit of	Cutler Formation
Underlies	Organ Rock Shale
Overlies	Elephant Canyon Formation Halgaito Member
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	37°23′N 109°55′W / 37.383°N 109.917°W / 37.383; -109.917
Region	Colorado Plateau
Country	United States
Type section
Named for	Cedar Mesa
Named by	Arthur A. Baker John B. Reeside, Jr., 1929

Cedar Mesa Sandstone (also known as the Cedar Mesa Formation) is a sandstone member^[1] of the Cutler Formation, found in southeast Utah, southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, and northeast Arizona.^[2]

Cedar Mesa Sandstone is the remains of coastal sand dunes deposited about 245–286 million years ago, during the early Permian period.^[3] Coloration varies, but the rock often displays a red and white banded appearance as a result of periodic floods which carried iron-rich sediments down from the Uncompahgre Mountains during its formation.^[3][4]

Named after Cedar Mesa near the San Juan River in Utah,^[2] exposures of Cedar Mesa Sandstone form the spires and canyons found in the Needles and Maze districts of Canyonlands National Park,^[3] the inner gorge of White Canyon,^[5] and the three natural bridges of Natural Bridges National Monument.^[6]

See also

• Geology of the Canyonlands area

Notes and references