West Cabin. Image from the National Park Service's page.
Pipe Spring National Monument lies on the Arizona Strip, the region north of the Grand Canyon in Mohave County, northwestern Arizona. This summary draws on the National Park Service's Geodiversity Atlas, part of the Geologic Resources Inventory.
The monument
Established on May 31, 1923, the monument covers 15 hectares (40 acres) and preserves the history of ancient and western life amid one of the most dramatic landscapes in the country. It is a memorial to pioneer life and protects the springs that sustained hundreds of years of human occupation — essential both to American Indians and to the 19th-century pioneers who lived in this arid region. Historic buildings from the outpost and ranch of 1870–1923 remain, with guided tours, exhibits and demonstrations.
Layers of time
The colorful bands of rock around the monument record a history reaching back to the Permian Period, about 275 million years ago:
| Age | Rocks | What they record |
|---|---|---|
| Permian | Kaibab Formation | marine limestone and sandstone from ancient seas and other environments |
| Triassic | Moenkopi and Chinle Formations | near-shore mudflats, floodplains and rivers, with ripple marks, mudcracks and thin layers of gypsum |
| Late Triassic–Jurassic | Moenave and Kayenta Formations and Navajo Sandstone | vast sand dunes that covered parts of Arizona and Utah |
In all, the sedimentary section in the region includes about 198 m (650 ft) of Permian rock and about 1,036 m (3,400 ft) of Triassic and Jurassic strata.
Regional setting and further data
The monument lies in the Colorado Plateaus physiographic province and shares its geologic history and several formations with the wider region. The Geologic Resources Inventory has produced a digital geologic map and report for the monument, and a Soil Resources Inventory has been completed; both are on the NPS DataStore.
Sources
- National Park Service: "NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Pipe Spring National Monument, Arizona."
- Works it cites: Anderson (2017); Graham (2010).
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
