Wingate Sandstone
The vertical red cliff-former of canyon country — Late Triassic dune sandstone that defines the architecture of the Colorado Plateau.
Also known as: Wingate
Mesozoic
Lithology
Massive sheer vertical cliffs — the defining cliff-former of the Colorado Plateau. Joints control vertical breakage; differential erosion of softer underlying Chinle creates the characteristic 'undercut cliff' profile.
Color: red-orange to brick red, with desert-varnish blackening on long-exposed faces
Grain size: fine to medium
Deposition
Environment: wind-blown desert dunes (eolian erg)
An immense sand sea covered what is now the Colorado Plateau during the latest Triassic — a vast desert at low latitude, similar in scale to the modern Sahara. Cross-bedding preserved in the Wingate records dune migration directions and wind regimes from over 200 million years ago.
Massive cross-bedded sandstone with bedding sets up to 30 feet thick. Cross-bed orientations are used to reconstruct paleowind directions, which were dominantly from the north and northwest during deposition.
Where to see it
Regions: Colorado Plateau
- Capitol Reef National Park (Cathedral Valley, Waterpocket Fold)
- Canyonlands National Park (Island in the Sky, Needles)
- Colorado National Monument
- San Rafael Swell
- Indian Creek climbing area
- Arches National Park (lower walls)
- Glen Canyon / Lake Powell shorelines