Morrison Formation
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 40° 56.966 W 109° 42.691
12T E 608447 N 4533942
This geological formation has been exposed along a stretch of Utah Highway 44 south of Manila, Utah.
Waymark Code: WMJ0MA
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 09/05/2013
Views: 2
Northeastern Utah, north of Vernal, was laid down layer by layer many millions of years ago when inland North America was an inland sea. Over time this giant layer cake was bent upward in an east-west trending arch many miles across. This arch, called the Uinta Anticline, has been eroded to form the Uninta Mountain range plus all the other topographic features now visible in the region. Anticlines are noted for their ability to trap petrochemical fossil fuels under their impermeable layers and the Uinta Basin is noted for its wax-like oil deposits and now its vast accumulations of natural gas.
As visitors travels throughout the region they will pass through layer after layer of the sedimentary deposits that turned to rock long ago. Sometimes, as you pass from the edge of the arch toward the center, you will find yourself climbing higher to reach older rock. Come visit Utah and investigate this gigantic "layer cake" for yourself.
The Morrison Formation was laid down between about 156 and 146 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era. Because of the movie "Jurassic Park" everyone knows that dinosaurs were plentiful at that time and excavations in this layer provide plentiful evidence of their existence in this region. Uranium ore was found in this formation in other parts of eastern Utah.