Geologic map of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Postcard (PI-56)

By: G. C. Willis

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument covers 1.7 million acres between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks. The geology consists of 6,000 feet of well-exposed, layered sedimentary rocks that are between about 65 million and 200 million years old, a basalt flow about one million years old, and thin surficial “cover.” Alternating layers of resistant (cliff-forming) and nonresistant (valley-forming) rock create the “staircase” – each “riser” is a cliff as much as 2,000 feet high, and each “tread” is a valley or plateau as much as 15 miles wide.

Other Information:
Published: 1998
Location: Garfield County and Kane County
Media Type: Paper Postcard