El Morro National Monument, Cibola County, New Mexico, USAi

Regional Level Types
El Morro National Monument	National Monument
Cibola County	County
New Mexico	State
USA	Country

El Morro National Monument is a national monument that preserves a promontory (sandstone bluff) called "Inscription Rock."

The exposed geology at the El Morro National Monument provides an interesting sequence of sedimentation mostly because of an extensive unconformity. The Zuni sandstone forms gray to tan cliffs that rise about 200 feet above the plain. This sedimentation occurred about 160 million years ago as a vast dunefield. The dunes were covered with successive sedimentation resulting in the now compact Zuni sandstone. Lying directly on top of the Zuni sandstone is the brown Dakota sandstone that formed about 96 million years ago during the intrusion of the Western Interior Seaway. The contact between these two deposits can be easily be seen through the Park.

The unconformity is defined by the fact that there is about 60 million years of missing sediment between the two sandstones. Professional papers suggest that these sediments were removed by erosion and the top of the Zuni sandstone was subjected to weathering causing the alteration of the sandstone to well-crystallized, white kaolinite. The white band can be seen just below the contact and also in close-up satellite photos.

At the base of the cliff is a large pool of, year round, fresh water that played a significant role in western history. The water source in a desert environment was repeatedly used by Paleo Native Americans, Spanish explorers, the Zuni people, prospectors, settlers and the U.S. Cavalry. There are over 2000 inscriptions carved into the cliff.

Fossils

This region is too big or complex to display the fossil list, try looking at smaller subregions.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Morro_National_Monument
Wikidata ID:	Q1324397
GeoNames ID:	5466480

References