West Face of El Capitan Reef

July 28, 2004

Westfacepanarama copy

Provided and copyright by: Jon Hill, GeologyRocks
Summary authors & editors: Jon Hill

The above photo was taken in the Gaudalupe Mountains, Texas, and shows the west face of the El Capitan Reef. The dark lines in the massive limestone beds (below cloud deck), which slope from the upper left to the lower right, are progradation lines that display how the reef built up over time. The topography seen here is virtually that of the Permian, showing how deep the basin was (some 700 m) eons ago. Notice the near perfect detail of the stratigraphy below the reef.

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