Geologic History of Utah and the Colorado Plateau. These rocks formed deep beneath the surface of the earth and were uplifted, eroded, and exposed for eons. Thick layers of limestone, sandstone, siltstone, and shale were laid down in the shallow marine waters.
One particular geologic formation, might have multiple facies.
Ancient Precambrian rocks, exposed only in the deepest canyons, make up the basement of the Colorado Plateau. One of the most geologically intriguing features of the Colorado Plateau is its remarkable stability. National parks (from south to north to south clockwise):Within these rocks are abundant mineral resources that include uranium, coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Study of the area's unusually clear geologic history (which is laid bare due to the arid and semiarid conditions) has greatly advanced that science.Throughout the Paleozoic Era, tropical seas periodically inundated the Colorado Plateau region. Igneous rocks injected millions of years later form a marbled network through parts of the Colorado Plateaus' darker metamorphic basement. Over 300 million years passed as layer upon layer of sediment accumulated.Wilderness areas (alphabetical):National monuments (alphabetical): Colorado Plateau, also called Colorado Plateaus, a physiographic province of the Intermontane Plateaus region, extending across the southwestern United States and covering the southeastern half of Utah, extreme western and southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and the northern half of Arizona. Encompassing 240,000 square miles (386,242 km), the Colorado Plateau straddles the region known as The Four Corners, where the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico meet. During times when the seas retreated, stream deposits and dune sands were deposited or older layers were removed by erosion. Ancient Precambrian rocks, exposed only in the deepest canyons, make up the basement of the Colorado Plateau. We invest in Native-led organizations working in four priority areas on the Colorado Plateau: protection of water, protection of sacred places and threatened landscapes, preservation of Native languages, and
Elevation for the Colorado Plateaus starts at about 610 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, with plateau tops ranging from 1,534 to 2,134 km (5,000 to 7,000 ft) and mountaintops reaching nearly 3,960 km (13,000 ft). Colorado Plateau Foundation We are a Native-led foundation that supports the cultures, lands, and waters of the Colorado Plateau, the landscape that we call home. In Geology, a facies is a body of rock characterized by its formation, composition, and fossil content–which usually says something about the environment it was formed in. Ancient volcanic mountains, plateaus and buttes, deeply carved canyons, and amazing ranges in color are the region's defining characteristics.