The stunning– and very ancient– rocks of Painted Wall in Black Canyon, Gunnison National Park, Colorado. Picture courtesy of Ray Hall.

This week’s Monday Geology Picture shows the absolutely amazing “Painted Wall” of Black Canyon, which is located in Gunnison National Park in Colorado. The picture is courtesy of my friend Ray Hall. I’ve never been to Gunnison National Park, but the park is now high on my list of places I want to visit! The impressive wall consists of very old Precambrian gneiss and schist rock that is cut by lighter colored pegmatite veins, which are also Precambrian in age. The wall is over 2,000 feet tall and is made of some very impressive, very old, and very beautiful rock.