Capitol Reef National Park - Torrey Utah
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 38° 17.478 W 111° 15.714
12S E 477097 N 4238168
Capitol Reef National Park is defined by the Waterpocket Fold, a massive buckling of the earth's crust. Landforms such as Capitol Dome, carved by ancient waterways, fill this cold desert ecosystem which supported a diversity of plants and animals.
Waymark Code: WM13GVW
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 12/12/2020
Views: 3
From their website in part:
Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles.
Capitol Reef
The easiest to access portion of the Waterpocket Fold, found near the Fremont River, is known as Capitol Reef: capitol for the white domes of Navajo Sandstone that resemble capitol building domes, and reef for the rocky cliffs which are a barrier to travel, like an ocean reef.
The geologic story of Capitol Reef can be broken down into three steps, each of which occured over millions of years of geologic time: deposition, uplift, and erosion.
Deposition
Nearly 10,000 feet of sedimentary strata were deposited in the Capitol Reef area. These rocks range in age from Permian (as old as 270 million years old) to Cretaceous (as young as 80 million years old.) Because the Waterpocket Fold has tilted this geologic layer cake down to the east, the older rocks are found in the western part of the park, and the younger rocks are found near the east boundary.
This layer upon layer sequence of sedimentary rock records nearly 200 million years of geologic history. Rock layers in Capitol Reef reveal ancient environments as varied as rivers and swamps (Chinle Formation), Sahara-like deserts (Navajo Sandstone), and shallow oceans (Mancos Shale). Fossils found in these rocks give additional clues about these ancient environments and inhabitants. These ancient sediments were deposited when the region was at or near sea level, far below the current elevation.
What is the Waterpocket Fold?
The Waterpocket Fold defines Capitol Reef National Park. A nearly 100-mile long warp in the Earth's crust, the Waterpocket Fold is a classic monocline, a "step-up" in the rock layers. It formed between 50 and 70 million years ago when a major mountain building event in western North America, the Laramide Orogeny, reactivated an ancient buried fault in this region. Movement along the fault caused the west side to shift upwards relative to the east side. The overlying sedimentary layers were draped above the fault and formed a monocline. The rock layers on the west side of the fold have been lifted more than 7,000 feet (2,134 m) higher than the layers on the east.
More recent uplift of the entire Colorado Plateau and the resulting erosion has exposed this fold at the surface within the last 15 to 20 million years. The name "Waterpocket Fold" reflects this ongoing erosion of the rock layers. "Waterpockets" are small depressions that form in many of the sandstone layers as they are eroded by water, and are common throughout the fold at Capitol Reef. Erosion of the tilted rock layers continues today forming colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, stark monoliths, twisting canyons, and graceful arches.
Waymark is confirmed to be publicly accessible: yes
Requires a high clearance vehicle to visit.: no
Requires 4x4 vehicle to visit.: no
Public Transport available: no
Website reference: [Web Link]
Parking Coordinates: Not Listed
Access fee (In local currency): Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
No specific requirements, just have fun visiting the waymark.