View along the South Kaibab Trail looking north across the Inner Gorge toward cliffs of the Precambrian-age Shinumo Quartzite and underlying Hakatai Shale. In this view, the Tapeats Sandstone forms a recessed escarpment above the Shinumo Quartzite (near the center of the image) (Beus, 1987; Billingsley, 2000). In the foreground, agaves (Agave utahensis) and gray bursage or burrobush (Ambrosia dumosa) grow on the gentle slopes of the Cambrian-age Bright Angel Shale along the trail in the foreground (USDA, [2010g,h]). |