POTD May 2, 2014: Bentonite Hills, east of Capitol Reef National Park, Wayne County, Utah

Bentonite Hills, east of Capitol Reef National Park, Wayne County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2012

Black volcanic boulders litter colorful but seemingly lifeless badlands formed in the Brushy Basin Member of the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation. Moisture-sensitive swelling clays, formed by the alteration of volcanic ash, allow little vegetation to take root.