This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2010) |
TheBook Cliffsare a series of desert mountains andcliffsin westernColoradoand easternUtahin theWestern United States.[1]They are so named because the cliffs ofCretaceoussandstonecapping many of the south-facingbuttesappear similar to a shelf of books.[2][1]
Stratigraphy
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The Book Cliffs are one of the world's best places to studysequence stratigraphy.In the 1980s,Exxonscientists used theCretaceousstrata of the Book Cliffs to develop the science ofsequence stratigraphy.The Book Cliffs have preserved excellent strata of the foreland basin of the ancientWestern Interior Seawaythat stretched north from theGulf of Mexicoto theYukonin the Cretaceous Period. Components of deltaic and shallow marine reservoirs are very well preserved in the Book Cliffs.
Wildlife
editThere are many small streams that contain a variety of trout species.
Large mammals found in the Book Cliffs includecoyotes,mountain lions,bobcats,mule deer,elk, black bears,pronghorn,American bisonas an extension of theHenry Mountains bison herdandbighorn sheep.In January 2009,Utah Division of Wildlife Resourcesofficials transplanted 31 bison from theHenry Mountainsbison herd to the Book Cliffs.[3]The new group joined 14 animals previously released in August 2008 from a private herd on the nearbyUintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.[4]This herd is approximately 100 miles (160 km) north of the Henry Mountains across mostly harsh, desert terrain.
See also
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References
edit- ^abU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Book Cliffs
- ^Van Atta, Dale (Jan 22, 1977)."You name it - there's a town for it".The Deseret News.p. 15.Retrieved18 October2015– viaGoogle News.
- ^"DWR captures bison near Lake Powell".Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-12-10.
- ^"Bison Return to the Book Cliffs".Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-10-25.
External links
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