![]() ![]() The six openings, extending across 20 feet of stream bank, might have revealed multiple unconnected dens, but I have the hunch that all were part of a large, winding cave, occupied by a single packrat, or perhaps an adult female raising offspring. Piles of plant debris and dribbles of dark fluid are certain evidence of a packrat or woodrat den. Distinct drops of fluid, the color of tea, stained several of openings. Near the dryfall, the stream bank had six openings, and each was stuffed with twigs of all sizes and finer debris. The stream cut deeper and deeper until the stream banks were about 12 vertical feet. These ended abruptly as dryfalls that become waterfalls after rains.Ī particularly large and dramatic entrenched ephemeral stream is near the southern end of the McDonald Canyon. Above: Photo taken from above the stream showing the extent of the cave openings, the dryfall and McDonald Canyon.ĭuring a recent hike along the eastern rim of McDonald Canyon in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation area, I enjoyed the sinuous forms cut by ephemeral streams into large expanses of slickrock. Today, wind and water erosion are the sculptors that create rock art in the form of pinnacles, arches, bridges, slot canyons and alcoves with hanging gardens.Īt the top of the page: Debris and amberat spilling from caves identify packrat dens (Photos by Jeff Mitton). Chinle, Wingate, Kayenta and Entrada sandstones, formed in the Triassic and Jurassic Epochs between 225 and 140 million years ago, are the sandstone layers found in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area.Įntrada sandstone was formed between 180 and 140 million years ago as windblown sand dunes beside the Sundance Sea, which came to western North America as five separate intrusions of the Arctic Ocean. Sandstone that forms on the bottom of a sea has precisely defined, parallel layers, while cross-bedded sandstones are fossilized sand dunes. It is a romantic and scenic portion of the west, with tall mesas, steep cliffs, deep canyons, narrow slot canyons, alcoves, arches and bridges. ![]() The Colorado Plateau, in western Colorado, southeastern Utah, Northern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico, is commonly called red rock country or canyon country, both referring to formations of colorful sandstone. Although sandstone walls might look solid, they can be riddled with their residents’ long-lasting residue ![]()
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