Colorado Plateau Geology

The Colorado Plateau physiographic province is roughly centered on the Four Corners area and covers parts of four different states (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico). In northeastern Arizona, Cretaceous sedimentary rocks are well exposed in the Black Mesa area.

Figure 13-7. Some of the Cretaceous rocks of Mesa Verde National Park represent an ancient marine environment.

Located just south of the Park entrance at Point Lookout, the Point Lookout Sandstone overlies the Mancos Shale (left).
A stratigraphic column (after Wanek, 1959, and Griffitts, 1990) for the Mesa Verde N.P. area (middle).
The Cliff Palace ruins are built in the Cliff House Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group (right).

Cretaceous Geology of Northeastern Arizona

The geology of the Colorado Plateau in northeastern Arizona includes a record of a significant part of the Cretaceous Period. This high desert landscape includes a huge region (Black Mesa) where Cretaceous rocks are exposed, like the Dakota Sandstone, Mancos Shale, and rocks of the Mesa Verde Group.

Figure 13-8. Landscape and geology of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona.

The Geologic Map of the Marble Canyon quadrangle (left).
Cretaceous Mesa Verde Group rocks exposed at the northeast end of Black Mesa at Kayenta (right).

Answer the questions using the Geologic Map of the Marble Canyon 1° x 2° Quadrangle (see the PDF links below). If necessary, refer to your rock identification charts (Igneous HERE / Metamorphic HERE / Sedimentary HERE).

Geologic Map of the Marble Canyon 1° x 2° Quadrangle

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Description of Map Units

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