I had to consult a couple of geologist friends on this. I first thought these might be some sort of worm boroughs, but the concensus was that these are ancient mud cracks. The view is about a 3 foot wide section of rock. Taken in Grand Staircase-Escalante.
So much for my smartypants "So how do you know they're ancient?" wisecrack. This is way cool, Roger. I wonder if Weave Stever will chime in with a confirmation.
Todd, I suppose ancient is a relative term. For example I have relatives who are ancient and a little cracked.
This is a quick cut and paste from what a friend sent along. "This is evidence of a prehistoric lake... Ancient deposits of silt can be found vertically superimposed upon older layers of horizontal sedimentary rock in some protected areas and mud flat cracks and other deposits harken back to a distant time period when still water processes were much more dominant." An accompanying text photos was a pretty close match.
John, I was thinking last night about trying a B/W conversion. Thanks for the thought.
Discussion
9 repliesOrdinarily, this would be a nice candidate for b&w, but those fine colors pretty much trump that notion!
This is a quick cut and paste from what a friend sent along. "This is evidence of a prehistoric lake... Ancient deposits of silt can be found vertically superimposed upon older layers of horizontal sedimentary rock in some protected areas and mud flat cracks and other deposits harken back to a distant time period when still water processes were much more dominant." An accompanying text photos was a pretty close match.
John, I was thinking last night about trying a B/W conversion. Thanks for the thought.
Joe Rogers