POTD March 28, 2014: Factory Butte, Wayne County, Utah

Factory Butte, Wayne County, Utah
Photographer: Stevie Emerson; © 2012

The Muley Canyon Sandstone Member of the Cretaceous-age Mancos Shale forms a protective cap at the top of Factory Butte, allowing it to tower 1,500 feet above badlands of the easily erodible Blue Gate Shale Member. These rocks record the existence of an inland sea covering much of Utah around 90 million years ago.