2 January 2013

Upturned Paleozoic strata on Highway 16, Bighorns, Wyoming

Posted by Callan Bentley

Here’s a terrific outcrop to start off the new year at Mountain Beltway. We’re back in the Bighorns of Wyoming here, on highway 16, traversing the southern portion of the range en route from Buffalo to South Pass City.

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Annotated, expanded, and Easter-egg-embedded:

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From a different perspective (uphill a tad, looking north), consider this GigaPan I shot at the time:

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The best part is this central region, with its early Paleozoic (Cambrian-Ordovician) sequence of strata. Younging direction is to the right.

The Gros Ventre Formation has some lovely flat-pebble conglomerates:

The Hardin Sandstone bears some Skolithos (here, viewed end-on) in places:

This outcrop was the first stop on my Summer 2011 Wyoming Energy field trip, run by Sheridan College. I aim to get that whole trip (finally) blogged this month.