Lower Triassic Red Peak Formation EarthCache
Lower Triassic Red Peak Formation
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The formation of interest is NNW for this location. This feature is on private land and cannot be accessed directly. It is viewable from these coordinates. This is the junction of Canyon Road and Clarks Fork Road 1216, and there is ample parking.
This most striking formation shows several layers of the Chugwater Group. This group is made up of red siltstone, red shale, and fin-grained red sandstone. These sedimentary formations were laid down over time forming the different strata. Due to the action of the rising of the Beartooth Mountains and later pushing by the weight of immense ice sheets these layers were forced up to nearly vertical. The older strata is to the west with the younger being to the east. Years of erosion have cut away the softer parts leaving the harder strata exposed. The redbeds are the Lower Triassic Red Peak Formation, a most distinctive formation of the Chugwater Group. The beds that are stratigraphically below (earlier layer, to the west) are the Dinwoody and Park City Formations. The beds that are stratigraphically above (later Jurassic, to the east) are the Sundance and Gypsum Spring Formations. There is a siltstone layer between the redbed and the Sundance that is approximately 15 feet thick and contains fossils of fish. This unnamed layer seems to be right at the junction of the Triassic and Jurassic Ages and could belong to either. This deposit hasn't been seen in any other location in the area. Highly pure gypsum is mined from the Gypsum Spring Formation not far from here and is used the manufacturing of wallboard.
To log this cache you will need to email me the answer to the following questions:
(1) Looking around, in which direction do you see another exposure of this formation?
(2) Looking down the paved road to the South tell me how many distinct sedimentary layers do you see exposed in the mountain side?
Information for this cache was obtained from the following sources:
Professor Arthur Snoke, Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wyoming
Professor Emeritus Don Boyd, University of Wyoming
Geologic Excursions into the Absaroka, Beartooth, and Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming and Montana - Keck Geology Consortium
Various Wikipedia entries.
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