Monitor and Merriamac Rock Formations
Utah · United States
Look to the right. All you can see at the moment are tall rock walls. That’s because we’re near the floor of Sevenmile Canyon. As we continue to drive, we’ll emerge from the canyon and be able to see two very distinct features in the distance to the right -- the Merrimac and the Monitor.
Contents
8 sections · tap a section for its opening lines1Monitor and Merrimac Rock Formations
Welcome, esteemed scholars and intrepid desert wanderers. Today, we stand approximately thirteen miles north of Moab, turning our academic gaze toward an awe-inspiring geological theater. …
Listen in the app2The Entrada Sandstone Canvas
We now approach the base of the Monitor butte. Look closely at the towering walls of stone before you. …
Listen in the app3The Merrimac's Imposing Profile
Shifting our focus slightly northward, the Merrimac butte commands our attention. Notice how its shape differs from the Monitor. …
Listen in the app4The Fossil Bed Approach
We transition now from geology to paleontology. Follow the trail carefully as it skirts the base of the formations and leads toward a relatively unassuming rocky outcrop. …
Listen in the app5The Sauropod Vertebrae
Stop right here and look down at the stone at your feet. Embedded directly within the matrix of the rock, you will see a large, knobby protrusion. …
Listen in the app6The Massive Scapula Bone
Just a short distance further along the outcrop, another spectacular specimen presents itself. Direct your attention to the elongated, flattened shape resting horizontally in the sandstone. …
Listen in the app7The Prehistoric Ecosystem
As we stand amidst these fossils, let us reconstruct the ecosystem in our minds' eye. The arid, red desert vanishes. …
Listen in the app8Closing
Our scholarly investigation of the Monitor and Merrimac formations draws to a close. We have journeyed from the violent naval battles of human history, from which these stones derive their names, back into the deep, prehistoric…
Listen in the app
What is Monitor and Merriamac Rock Formations?
Monitor and Merriamac Rock Formations is a place in Utah · United States with 8 story sections on Tellby. You can read the opening of each section on this page; the sound plays in the app.
| Location | Utah · United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Heritage |
| Story sections | 8 |
| Text language | English |
| Coordinates | 38.5654, -109.5354 |
| Last updated |