Geologic Resources Inventory Report
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Petrified Forest National Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2010/218 THIS PAGE: Much of the petrified wood in the park is Araucarioxylon arizonicum— the state fossil of Arizona. These logs are in the Rainbow Forest area of the park. ON THE COVER: Petrified Forest National Park was established to preserve spectacular accumulations of Triassic-aged petrified wood, between about 200 and 220 million years old. The park also preserves an excellent fossil vertebrate and plant record from the “dawn of the Dinosaurs.” National Park Service photographs by T. Scott Williams. Petrified Forest National Park Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2010/218 Geologic Resources Division Natural Resource Program Center P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225 June 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Ft. Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Government. Printed copies of this report are produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as long as the supply lasts. This report is available from the Geologic Resources Inventory website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/gre_publications.cfm) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/ NRPM). Please cite this publication as: KellerLynn, K. 2010. Petrified Forest National Park: geologic resources inventory report. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2010/218. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 110/104279, June 2010 ii NPS Geologic Resources Division Contents Lists of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................... iv Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vii Credits ....................................................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of the Geologic Resources Inventory ............................................................................................................... 1 Park Setting ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Geologic Issues .............................................................................................................. 5 Petrified Wood ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Paleontological Resource Damage ................................................................................................................................ 6 Paleontological Resource Inventory ............................................................................................................................... 7 Paleontological Research .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Revisions to Stratigraphy .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Bentonite ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Mass Wasting ............................................................................................................................................................ 10 Subsidence ................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Potash ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage ................................................................................................................................ 11 Uranium .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Adjacent Development ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Geologic Features and Processes ................................................................................ 17 Paleontological Resources .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Chinle Formation and Badlands Topography ............................................................................................................... 17 Unconformities .......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Structural Geology and Features ................................................................................................................................. 19 Sedimentary Structures .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Eolian Features and Processes..................................................................................................................................... 19 Volcanic Features ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 Stream Terraces ......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Tinajas ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Desert Varnish ........................................................................................................................................................... 21 Caliche ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Map Unit Properties .................................................................................................... 28 Geologic History .......................................................................................................... 31 Mesa Redondo Member ............................................................................................................................................. 31 Blue Mesa Member .................................................................................................................................................... 31 Sonsela Member ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Petrified Forest Member ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Owl Rock Member ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 Jurassic and Cretaceous Rocks .................................................................................................................................... 32 Miocene-Pliocene and Quaternary Units ....................................................................................................................