Richards Gap EarthCache
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Pull off to the west side of the road at this location and look to the north, east, and west. Here at the north edge of Clay Basin, on the border of Utah and Wyoming, Red Creek is flowing south through a wall at Richards Gap. This wall consists of Baxter Shale overlain by the Mesaverde Group.
Baxter Shale is analogous to the Mancos, or Hilliard Shale, and is about 87 million years old. The Mesaverde Group consists of 3 formations. From oldest to youngest (bottom to top), they are the Blair Sandstone, Rock Springs Formation, and the Ericson Sandstone. These formations are all sedimentary in nature, and were laid down in the Late Cretaceous, from about 71 – 80 million years ago.
Notice the pattern of the vegetation (mostly junipers) growing on the slopes of the Baxter Shale. The shale is bare of vegetation close to Richards Gap, and the vegetation increases as you get further east and west of the gap.
To log this cache:
1) Send me an email explaining what geologic forces might be responsible for the vegetative pattern of the junipers which you see here (i.e. increasing vegetation as you get further east and west).
Please consider posting photos of yourself, or the local geology, when you log this EarthCache. Photos can be an additional rewarding part of your journey, but posting them is not a requirement for logging this EarthCache, and is strictly optional.
The above information was compiled from the following sources:
Dehler, C.M., Pederson, J.L., Sprinkel, D.A., and Kowallis B.J., eds. Geologic Description of the Eastern Uinta Mountains from Vernal to Browns Park to Sheep Creek Canyon in Road Guide to the Geology of the Uinta Mountains for the 2005 Utah Geological Association Field Conference. 2005 Utah Geological Association Publication 33.
Hintz, L.F. 2005. Utah’s Spectacular Geology, How It Came to Be.
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