There are questions to answer at two locations. The first
is on a hiking trail up Tayler Creek. The second is at a
parking lot near NPS signs N37 27.307 W113 11.117.
The trail to the first coordinates drops down from the trailhead
then is a gentle uphill walk to a bend in the creek. The trail
crosses the creek a few times, so in spring and winter be prepared.
The folds will be visible as you look back down the canyon from the
coordinates.
Typically, sedimentary rocks are laid down in horizontal layers.
Afterward, tectonic forces move the rocks around sometimes forming
folds in the rock. Often folds form when the rock is compressed.
This compression likely occurred during the Late Cretaceous (85 to
72 million years ago) in a mountain building event called the
Seiver Orogeny.
These folds are unusual on the Colorado Plateau because the
uplift of the Plateau has been as a uniform block with little
folding. This folding happened prior to the uplift of the Colorado
Plateau which started in the Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene (75 to
50 million years ago) and were just along for the ride.
The graphic below (source) shows first a series of flat lying
rocks (A). The rocks are numbered 1 to 4 with 1 being the oldest
and 4 being the youngest. When the layers of rock appear to bend
away from each other forming a peak, this is called an anticline
(graphic B). In this case the oldest rocks are in the center of the
fold. When the layers of rock appear to bend toward each other
forming a trough, this is called a syncline (graphic C). In this
case the youngest rocks are in the center of the fold. There are
other types of folds, but they are basically complex variations of
these two types of folds.
Diagram source: Dr. Judson L. Ahern
http://geophysics.ou.edu/dynamic/notes/structure/structure.html
Logging requirements:
Send me a note with :
- The text "GC171QR Taylor Creek Folding" on the first line
- The number of people in your group.
- At the first coordinates, give the types of folds you see going
from left to right.
- At the second coordinates, find out from the informational
panel what kind of fold the rocks are bent into and where both
sides of the fold are.
The above information was compiled from the
following sources:
- Miek, Robert F., et. al., Geology of Zion
National Park, Utah in Geology of Utah’s Parks and Monuments, 2003
Utah Geological Association Publication 28 (second edition) D.A.
Sprinkel, T.C. Chidsey, Jr. and P.B. Anderson, editors
- NPS Informational Panel
- Dr. Judson L. Ahern
http://geophysics.ou.edu/dynamic/notes/structure/structure.html
Placement approved by the
Zion National Park