Strata:

Geology of the San Rafael Swell

Of all of Utah’s dramatic geology, the San Rafael Swell, which I grew up next to, is exceptional for its stratigraphic arrangement: rather than a vertical layering of geological strata as you might witness at the Grand Canyon, the uplift that produced the San Rafael Swell has rotated the sequence of strata so that as you move towards the center of the Swell you encounter increasingly older layers of rocks. Strata is organized around exploring and photographing each stratum wherever it is exposed on any of the sides of the San Rafael Swell, working its way backwards in time from the youngest rocks on the Swell’s outer edges to the oldest rocks near its center. It ranges from locations that are relatively well-known from being state parks or popular with social media influencers to more inaccessible or mundane places where the strata remain just as distinctly observable and deserving of appreciation.