POTD May 25, 2017: Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park
Photographer: Grant Willis © 2017
Bryce Canyon National Park is actually a plateau-edge escarpment carved into the Claron Formation, estimated to be eroding back at the phenomenal rate of as much as 4 feet per century. The orange colors are due to varying amounts of iron oxide minerals that stain calcareous (limey) ancient soil, lake, marsh, and floodplain deposits of the Claron Formation.