Steeply dipping strata of latest PreCambrian age (about 600 to 542 million
years) and Cambrian age (542 to 488 million years) crop out in massive
cliffs throughout lower Titus Canyon. The beds of dolomite shown in this
image are part of the late PreCambrian-age Wood Canyon Formation and are
located a short distance downhill from Leadfield (ghost town) near the
entrance of the gorge where Titus Creek crosses the boundary between softer
Tertiary-age sedimentary beds into the harder, denser, more ancient rocks.
The rock layers in this image appear to have been folded into a syncline,
but the apparent bend is actually a result of how the stream carved a
bend in the channel relative to the steeply dipping strata (providing
a good field-mapping lesson for training geologists). |