Cross-bedding in Flathead Sandstone, Wind River Canyon

This is a boulder of Cambrian-aged Flathead Sandstone, the unit overlying the Great Unconformity exposed in Wind River Canyon, Wyoming. Click to make it 5000 pixels wide. Swiss Army knife for scale. It shows a lovely example of multiple upside-down cross-beds. It also shows a heavy layer of caliche on what is (now) the upper surface – a phenomenon which typically occurs on the underside of sedimentary clasts. So not only was it deposited right-side-up, this boulder also sat out in this arid environment for some time in that same orientation to garner the layer of caliche, and then was flipped to its current orientation.

Leave a Comment