Aerial View of Western Utah

Provided by: David Harrington, University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy
Summary authors & editors: David Harrington

The photo above shows a sediment basin somewhere near the Utah/Nevada border, as observed from the window of a commercial flight at an altitude of approximately 30,000 ft high (about 9 km). The color has been enhanced to show compositional contrast. Note the dry streambeds running more or less from upper left to lower right, spanning several miles. Much of the exposed rock found here consists of sandstone. This region of the country is part of the Basin and Range geologic province. It's where the continental U.S. is thought to be stretching and faulting, resulting in a series of north-south mountain ranges having sediment basins in between. Photo taken in June of 2007.

Related Links:

• Carboniferous Age