This dramatic butte at the entrance to Mesa Verde National Park, golden in the first light of a July morning.  My wife, Pam, and I were on this road in the pre-dawn hours.  Our delight with this surprise view was worth it.

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In this Point Lookout area, near the park’s entrance, the Mancos Shale is about 2,000 ft thick, and this is what this butte is composed of. Mancos Shale is the lowest formation of the park and is a thick sequence of gray to black marine shale containing minor tan siltstone and fine sandstone beds. On steep slopes, such as those near the northern and eastern boundaries of the park, this formation is prone to landslides and debris flows. This is the base of the butte. The lovely golden rock is Point Lookout Sandstone of the Mesaverde Group, a predominantly yellowish-gray or pale-orange, fine- to medium-grained marine sandstone, approximately 300-400 ft thick. The Point Lookout Sandstone forms much of the cap rock in the northern park area.

I reworked the above image into this Fine Art image of Point Lookout.

Reference: http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/info/meve/

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