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Plate Tectonics and Rock Layers of 

Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument 

BLM 

Student Activity 

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Geology Unit 2 


Plate Tectonics and Rock Layers of 

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 

Believe it or not, right now, no matter if you’re standing, sitting, or lying down, YOU ARE 

MOVING! Not only is our planet spinning in space, but the land beneath you is drifting 

very, very slowly as it floats on a molten mantle at the center of the Earth. 

The Monument’s present location is marked by a red square on the Paleomap 1 above. 

In Utah, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is moving westward a 

few centimeters per year – perhaps about the length of your thumb. This tiny motion may 

seem insignificant until you consider that this has been happening continuously for billions 

of years. The face of planet Earth has truly been reshaped throughout geologic time. You 

might say the Old Gal has had an extreme makeover! 

For more paleogeographic maps of the Earth today, with emphasis on North America and 

the Southwest, check out these sites from the Department of Geology at Northern Arizona 

University. 

Paleogeography and Geologic Evolution of North America 

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/nam.html 

Global Paleogeographic Views of Earth’s History – Late Precambrian to Present 

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/000_present_3globes.jpg 

1 Plate tectonic maps and Continental drift animations by C.R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project 

(www.scotese.com) 

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Geographic Regions of GSENM 

The Monument is divided into three geographic sections: 

I. Grand Staircase, to the west, is a land of terraces and open benches that stair-step up 

from south to north 

II. Kaiparowits Plateau, in the center, is a region of high plateaus and predominantly 

Cretaceous age rocks. 

III. Escalante Canyons, to the east, are an area of deeply eroded, incised canyons. 

Escalante Canyon 

Kaiparowits Plateau 

Grand Staircase 

2



Geologic Formations of GSENM 

Studying the geology of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is like reading a 

history book of the Mesozoic Era, its ancient environments, plants, and animals. Though the 

Monument’s rock layers are predominantly from the Mesozoic, there are layers on top and 

bottom that formed in the Cenozoic and Paleozoic Eras, respectively. Altogether, the rock 

layers of the Monument reveal sediments and fossils deposited over 270 million years of 

geologic time. 

The following information will focus on the “Grand Staircase,” a series of five colorful cliffs 

rising from south to north, gaining over 5,000 feet of elevation. 

Pink Cliffs 

Gray Cliffs 

White Cliffs 

Vermilion Cliffs 

Chocolate Cliffs 

The Grand Staircase from LeFevre Overlook, North Kaibab Forest 

Most formations are composed of several “members,” each having a unique time span, geology, 

and environmental history. The geologic information on these pages has been simplified and 

covers only the formations, not their members. 

Many of the rock formations are NOT equally distributed throughout the Monument. A 

prominent layer in the west may be absent in the east, or it may be replaced by another 

formation of the same geologic age. These variations are noted in text and labeled “East” or 

“West” on the following pages. 

There are missing chapters in the story of the Grand Staircase. These missing chapters, or 

missing rock layers, are called unconformities. Unconformities are areas where the rock for a 

particular age is no longer present in the local sequence of strata. Unconformities are included in 

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this narrative. We’ll begin exploring the geology of the Grand Staircase by starting at the bottom, 

with the oldest rock layers, and gradually moving up to the present, geologically speaking. 

I. Kaibab Formation – Pk 

Time formed 

Rock 

Location 

Appearance: 

Special features 

Environment when 

formed 

Similar modern 

day habitats 

Missing rock layers 

~ 270 mya (million years ago); Paleozoic/Late Permian 

Fossiliferous and cherty limestone 

Southwest and eastern Monument 

Gray, 0-100 feet thick; mostly cliff forming 

Many invertebrate fossils; sinkholes. Kaibab limestone underlies 

much of the monument and forms the rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Clear warm shallow tropical seas with scattered reefs. Corals, 

sponges, and shells of small animals were compressed and turned 

into stone 

Caribbean Sea 

An unconformity in the rock sequence occurs here. Also, a great 

extinction of 95% of all species happens at this time 

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II. Moenkopi Formation – Trm 

Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 

Similar modern day 

habitats 


~245 mya, Mesozoic/Early Triassic 

Limestone, shale, siltstone, and sandstone 

Southern and eastern part of the Monument 

Red brown to brown; 440 to 1150 feet; cliff and slope-forming. The 

upper red member forms the lower part of the Chocolate Cliffs. 

These cliffs are not particularly prominent inside the Monument. 

Ripple marks, mud cracks, terrestrial and marine fossils; amphibian 

and reptile track ways (not dinosaurs), uranium and gold deposits 

are present though better represented in the Chinle formation. 

Coastal tidal flats. The shoreline shifted back and forth, giving a mix 

of shallow sea and arid coastal deposits. Daily tides created ripple 

marks. Utah lay close to the equator at this time. 

Persian Gulf 

Another unconformity in the rock sequence occurs here. 

5



III. Chinle Formation – Trc 

Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 


Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~210 mya 

Shale, mudstone, sandstone, and some conglomerates 

Southern and Eastern part of the Monument 

Gray, green, purple, red. 425 to 930 feet. The Petrified Forest 

member of the Chinle is slope-forming and often makes multi-hued 

rounded mounds and badlands. The lower part of the Chinle, the 

Shinarump member, is ledge-forming, and created the upper portions 

of the Chocolate Cliffs. The top piece of the Moenkopi and the 

adjacent bottom pieced of the Chinle together make up the Chocolate 

Cliffs. 

Dinosaurs and their tracks appear. The Petrified Forest member is 

famous for petrified wood. The upper Chinle erodes into soils on 

which few plants can survive. Its clays swell dramatically when wet, 

making road building difficult, and necessitates frequent highway 

repairs. 

Upland conifer forests with partly-thick ash falls from area 

volcanoes. Huge conifers later fossilized into petrified wood. 

Upland forests of Southern Mexico 

Yes, another unconformity… 

IV. East-Wingate Sandstone – Jw 

~200 mya, Mesozoic/Early Jurassic 

Windblown sandstone 

Only on the east side of the Monument 

Red brown; 250 to 350 feet; cliff former 

Cross-bedding. In the western Monument the Moenave, which 

formed in a wetter environment, fills the Wingate’s time frame. 

Sand desert. Winds piled the quartz sand into dunes, preserving the 

cross-bedding 

A medium-sized desert like that on the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. 

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Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

IV. West-Moenave Formation – Jmv 

~200 mya, Mesozoic/Early Jurassic 

Sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, shale 

Southwest part of the Monument 

Orange-red, 200 to 400 feet, moderate cliff former 

The Moenave forms the lower and middle parts of the Vermilion 

Cliffs. In the eastern Monument, the Wingate Sandstone fills the 

Moenave’s time frame. 

Varied. Terrestrial stream and lake deposits. Some formed in lakecovered 

flood plains and mudflats on which small rivers flowed. 

Kayena Africa 

V. Kayenta Formation –Jk 

Kayenta 

Moenave 

Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

193 mya, Mesozoic/Jurassic 

Sandstone, siltstone, shale 

Southern and eastern part of the Monument 

Reddish brown, 150 to 300 feet, upper component of the Vermilion 

Cliffs. Many places in the Vermilion Cliffs show part of the 

Moenave at their bottom, and sometimes a tongue of the Navajo 

Sandstone at their top. But in the east part of the Monument, the 

Kayenta is generally a bench former. 

Dinosaur track ways. Influenced historic routes of travel, siting of 

towns like Kayenta, Arizona. 

Mostly sandy streams. Rivers and streams deposited sand and silt 

sediments as they flowed through dry savannas dotted with trees. 

Yearly flooding created flood-plains and spread out fine sediments. 

Intermixed are lake deposits and minor windblown sand dunes. 

Kenya, Africa 

7



VI. Navajo Sandstone – Jn 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 


~185 mya, Mesozoic/ Middle Jurassic 

Windblown cross-bedded sandstone 

2 

Red, orange, yellow, brown, often bleached almost white , 1000 to 

1500 feet. Magnificent cliff-former - makes the famous White Cliffs 

Very dramatic cliffs, high angle cross-bedded sandstone reveals the 

fossil desert; slot canyons; Moqui marbles. 

Great dune desert, formed by winds over a long period of time. As 

the dunes marched southward in this hot, arid desert, sand was 

deposited on the downwind face of the dunes, creating and 

preserving cross-bedding. 

Sahara Desert, Africa. The Navajo desert was even larger than the 

Sahara! 

Another unconformity 

2 Chan, Marjorie A. and William T. Parry. 2003. Rainbow of Rocks: Mysteries of Sandstone Colors and Concretions in 

Colorado Plateau Canyon Country. Public Information Series 77, Utah Geological Survey. 

8



VII. Carmel Jc and Page Jp Formations 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~ 170 mya, Mesozoic/Late Jurassic 

Silty limestone, shaly sandstone, shale, minor gypsum 

Red, white, brown; 90 to 200 feet. Composed of many different 

member layers, some form cliffs, others, slopes. Notable member is 

the Thousand Pockets Tongue of the Page Sandstone, composed of 

windblown, cross-bedded sandstone. 

Alabaster gypsum, crinoid fossils. 

Marine and coastal environments along which huge shallow bays of 

seawater, cut off from the neighboring ocean, evaporated leaving 

layers of gypsum salts. The Carmel represents a time when a seaway 

entered the area from the North. The Page Sandstone formed from 

desert dunes that pushed into the area from the east. 

Persian Gulf 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 


VIII. Entrada Sandstone –Je 

~165 mya, Mesozoic/ Late Jurassic 

Sandstone, siltstone 

Red, gray, white; 200 to 800 feet; some cliff forming 

The Entrada forms the lower part of the Gray Cliffs; can erode into 

“slick rock” shapes; dinosaur track ways. 

Partly windblown sand dunes and partly tidal flat; sabhka and beach 

type deposits. At times the ocean encroached into the area, creating 

marine sandstones and siltstones. 

A sandy desert along a beach, similar to beaches along the Persian 

Gulf. 


9



Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 


VIII. Eastern – Morrison Formation – Jm 

~150 mya, Mesozoic/Late Jurassic 

River deposited sandstone, mudstone 

Gray, blue, red/purple/green and yellow-brown streaks; 0 to 900 

feet; some members cliff forming, others slope-forming. 

Low grade uranium; in northern Utah, this layer has Dinosaur 

National Park’s fossils 

Lowlands with rivers, streams, and their associated sandbars; 

floodplains and gravel beds (conglomerates) 

Braided rivers and streams similar to those coming off the Andes 

Mountains in South America 


IX. Dakota Formation –K 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~95 mya, Mesozoic/Late Cretaceous. 

Sandstone, mudstone, shale, conglomerate, and coal. 

Brown, yellow, gray; 0-250 feet, mostly slope-forming. 

Some coal present. Dakota Sandstone is one of the most 

widespread formations in the western United States. It forms the 

upper part of the Gray Cliffs, which are not as visually striking as 

the White Cliffs below and Pink Cliffs above. The Gray Cliffs lack 

towering, massive cliff faces, and have a rather rounded or eroded 

appearance. 

Varied. Shallow marine and near shore swamps. The Western 

Interior Seaway was advancing into the North American Continent, 

extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic, depositing belowsurface 

sandstone and other layers. Over the next tens of millions of 

years, the sea would rise and fall, sometimes leaving marine 

sediments, and other times retreating to allow terrestrial 

environments. Coal was formed in lagoon swamps with lush plant 

growth. 

Coastlines of Florida or Louisiana. 

10



X. Tropic Shale – Kt 

Straight Cliffs 

Tropic Shale 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~ 93 mya, Mesozoic/ Late Cretaceous 

Shale, clay 

Dark gray, blue gray; 500-700 feet; a slope-former with slumps and 

landslides. 

Very few plants grow in its soil; badlands have a “surface-of-themoon” 

feel; slippery when wet; many fossils including ammonites, 

mollusks, sharks, pliosaurs, turtles, and more. 

Part of the Western Interior Seaway. Floor of a shallow sea, not 

right against the shoreline. 

Gulf of Mexico, away from the coast. 

11



XI. Straight Cliffs Formation – Ks 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~ 85 mya, Mesozoic/ Late Cretaceous 

Sandstone, shale with coal 

Yellow-gray, white; 900 to 1800 feet; cliff-forming, some slopes; 

comprises the Straight Cliffs located mostly in the northwest and 

south central portions of the Monument. 

Coal seams, some burning underground (Smoky Mountain, Burning 

Hills); “clinker” rocks formed by natural coal fires. 

Coastal swamps, warm lagoons, marshy seashores. Vast amounts of 

organic material, mostly plants created perfect conditions for coal 

formation. 

Delta and coast of Louisiana. 

XII. Wahweap Formation – Kw 

~80 mya, Mesozoic/Late Cretaceous 

Sandstone, shale, mudstone 

Yellowish-gray, buff; 800 to 1100 feet; top two members form cliffs 

and ledges, its third and lowest member form slopes. It is best 

represented in the eastern part of the Monument. 

Fossils, dramatic cliffs. 

Swampy lowlands. These were lush, humid areas with 

floodplains, slow rivers, and shallow lakes. 

Inland Louisiana 

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XII. East Kaiparowits Formation – Kk 

Time formed 


Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 


~75 mya, Mesozoic to Late Cretaceous 

Shaly sandstone 

Greenish-gray, blue-gray; 2000 to 3000 feet; forms badlands and 

slopes. Creates the area called “The Blues.” 

New dinosaur discoveries and diverse faunas; tremendous 

deposition rates of sediments from the Sevier Mountains. 

Freshwater or brackish lakes and nearby flatlands, further from the 

sea than during formation of Wahweap. 

Broad shallow lakes; close to the sea where tides could still influence 

deposition. 

Another unconformity in the rock sequence occurs here, and 

another mass extinction happens, this time killing off 75% of all 

species. 

13



XIII. Claron Formation – Tc 

Time formed 


Location 

Appearance: 



formed 


habitats 

~50 mya, Cenozoic/Tertiary 

Limestone, sandstone, siltstone 

This formation is mostly in Dixie National Forest and Bryce 

National Park. 

Pale orange, yellow, pink white; 1000 to 1600 feet; weathers into 

cliffs, spires, columns and pinnacles. Forms the Pink Cliffs of the 

Grand Staircase. 

Rapid erosion forms “hoodoos,” very colorful cliffs. 

In a very large freshwater lake, sediments collected and consolidated 

to form the Claron Formation. The pink member of the Claron is 

predominantly river channel, flood plain, and lake deposits. 

A large fresh water lake with high inflow, but little outflow. 

Postscript 

Paleogene time and Neogene time deposits are scattered throughout the Monument. These 

materials rest on top of exposed rock strata and include: 

• Lava flows and cinder cones form basalt, tuff, and ash layers. 

• Wind blows sand into surface dunes, especially near eroding sandstone. 

• Water washes debris, sand, and gravel into streambeds, terraces, and floodplains. 

• Mass wasting creates talus slopes and rock falls. 

• Wet shales collapse in landslides and slumps. 

• Glaciers during the Pleistocene added materials later moved by water erosion. 

And it Continues 

Monument lands and the entire Colorado Plateau continue to rise in elevation. Tributaries to the 

Colorado River keep wearing deeper into the canyons. Faults still move and erosion continues to 

form windblown and waterborne deposits. Even human activities affect the geologic face of 

GSENM. Its story is still being written. 

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Geography of Ancient Earth 

Step 1: How to interpret paleomaps 

• Find the red dot marking the location of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument 

on the four Paleomaps 3 below. 

• Notice that each of these maps represents a different Period in geologic time. Below 

each map is brief description of the location of the Monument. 

• Read each description and familiarize yourself with what to look for as you read 

paleogeographic maps. 

I. Late Permian Era~255 mya 

The Monument is underwater, in a warm tropical sea. How can you tell it’s a tropical sea? Check 

out its location in relation to the Equator. 

II. Mesozoic Era – Triassic Period~237 mya 

The Monument is located on the western shoreline of the continent Pangea. The climate would 

still be tropical due to its proximity to the Equator. 

3 Plate tectonic maps and Continental drift animations by C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project 

(www.scotese.com) 

15



III. Mesozoic Era – Early Jurassic Period ~195 mya 

The Monument is located inland, in a huge dune field. Tropical westerlies bring sand down from 

the North. Climate is less tropical away from the Equator. 

IV. Mesozoic Era – Late Cretaceous Period ~ 94 mya 

The Monument is again located on the shoreline, this time on the east coast of an inland sea and 

further still from the Equator. 

Step 2 

Use online paleogeographic maps to follow the tectonic movement of GSENM and correlate its 

different geographic locations with the environments that existed when major rock layers were 

formed. 

I. Follow the internet links to view a series of Paleogeographic Maps for North America from the 

Department of Geology at Northern Arizona University. 

16



II. Locate the state of Utah on each map and find the area that would be the Monument. 

Outline of the State of Utah 

o 

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 

III. For each geologic period: 

A. Analyze the Monument’s geographic location and form a hypothesis about the type 

of environment that existed. 

B. Check your hypothesis by reading about the rock layer(s) from earlier in this activity. 

Question 1 

In the space below each geologic period write a brief synopsis of the environment that existed 

and list the rock layer(s) formed. 

a) Middle Permian ~ 275 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namP275.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

b) Early Triassic ~ 245 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namTr245.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

c) Late Triassic ~ 210 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namTr210.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

d) Early Jurassic ~ 195 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namJ195.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

e) Middle Jurassic ~ 170 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namJ170.jpg 

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___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

f) Late Jurassic ~ 150 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namJ150.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

g) Early Cretaceous ~ 100 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namK100.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

h) Late Cretaceous ~ 85 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namK85.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

i) Tertiary ~ 65 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namKT65.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

j) Paleogene ~ 50 mya http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namPe50.jpg 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________ 

18



Ancient Environments 

Following are illustrations of nine different environments that existed while the rock layers of 

the Monument were being formed in the geologic past. These pictures do not cover all of the 

different environments, just a few. 

Use information from earlier in the activity to identify the geologic time period and the rock 

formation that could have been made when the environment looked like the illustrations. Write 

the name(s) of the rock layers and the geologic time that you think each illustration represents. 

Question 2 

a) b) 

Rock Formation:_____________________ Rock Formation:_____________________ 

Geologic Time (mya):_________________ Geologic Time (mya):_________________ 

c) 

Rock Formation:_____________________ 

Geologic Time (mya):_________________ 

d) 



19



e) 

Rock Formation:___________________________ 

Geologic Time (mya):_______________________ 

f) 

Rock Formation:________________ 

Geologic Time (mya):____________ 

g) h) 





i) 

Rock Formation:_____________________________ 

Geologic Time (mya):_________________________ 

20



Vocabulary 

Cenozoic 

Belonging or relating to the most recent era of geological 

time, covering the period from the present to about 65 

million years ago, during which modern plants and animals 

evolved. 

Formations 

Jurassic 

Limestone 

Members 

Mesozoic 

Mudstone 

Paleozoic 

Sabhka 

Sandstone 

Shale 

Siltstone 

Unit of rock consisting of a succession of strata or an igneous 

intrusion. 

The period of geologic time during which dinosaurs 

flourished and birds and mammals first appeared, 

extending from 200 million years to 145 million years ago. 

Sedimentary rock formed from the skeletons and shells of 

marine organisms that consists chiefly of calcium carbonate 

and is used widely in construction and in making lime and 

cement. 

A division of a formation, generally of distinct lithologic 

character or of only local extent. 

Belonging to or dating from an era of geologic time 250 to 

65 million years ago, between the Paleozoic and Cenozoic 

Eras, when dinosaurs, birds, and flowering plants first 

appeared. 

A sedimentary rock formed from mud, similar to shale but 

with less developed lamination. 

The Era of geologic time when fish, insects, amphibians, 

reptiles, and land plants first appeared, about 550 million 

to 250 million years ago. 

A coastal environment in an arid climate where evaporation 

rates are high. The term is also applied to interior flat areas 

where, from either deflation or evaporation, saline minerals 

are present (salt flat). 

Sedimentary rock made up of sand particles, mostly quartz, 

bound together by a mineral cement, along with some 

feldspar, mica, and rock debris. 

A dark fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of layers 

of compressed clay, silt, or mud. 

A form of fine-grained sandstone consisting of compressed 

silt. 

21



Strata 

Plural of stratum, any of several parallel layer levels. 

Unconformity 

A surface of erosion, or non-deposition, between younger 

strata and older rocks. 

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Plate Tectonics and the Rock Layers of Grand ... - Gsenmschool.org

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