Castle Valley: scenic viewpoint on I-70 in Utah

Castle Valley, Utah, was once a sea.

Castle Valley is a scenic viewpoint on Interstate 70 across Utah that connects Interstate 15 with Grand Junction, Colorado. (A town by the same name is about 20 miles away.

But once upon a time, Castle Valley was part of a great sea, dating back to before the Jurassic era. It was a tropical forest with giant dinosaurs roaming the land. Over the millennia, other plant and animal life built up into the colorful layers of rock, creating coal and natural gas pits in the process.

This area is part of the geologic San Rafael Swell, where erosion has exposed layers of the earth’s crust, giving us a glimpse of what the area was like millions of years ago.

Views stretch for dozens of mils from this viewpoint, which offers picnic tables and vault toilets.

 

 

 

 

San Rafael Reef: A lesson in geology in central Utah

San Rafael Reef
 

The San Rafael Reef is a unique geologic feature that is bisected by Interstate 70 as it runs through central Utah. It is located at the eastern end of the 75-mile long and 45-mile wide San Rafael Swell.

The San Rafael Swell was created millions of years ago by enormous geologic upheavals that created a “swell” in the earth’s surface.

At the reef, these geologic actions forced mountains and gigantic boulders  to lie at an angle; these formations are made of Navaho and Wingate sandstone that have been shaped by erosion. The reef is located in high desert country about 30 miles west of Green River, Utah. There are numerous slot canyons in the reef area; a slot canyon is one that is deeper than it is wide.

The swell is considered a wilderness area, populated with antelope and wild horses, and crossed by roads that can only be driven in four-wheel drive vehicles. Much of the swell is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.