Pipe Spring National Monument 

Geologic Resources Inventory Report 

Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/164 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Natural Resource Program Center 
THIS PAGE: IS PAGE:

Winsor Castl nsor Castle was constr was constructed in the early 1870s to

protect the water suppl r supply flowing from springs—

collectively referred to as “Pipe Spring”—associated 

with the under e underlying Sevi ying Sevier Fault.

ON THE COVER:

Red rocks Red rocks of the Jurassic Kayenta Formation

comprise much of the slopes to the west of the fort. 

Lighter-colored rocks of the Jurassic Navajo

Sandstone cap one cap the ridges.

National Par onal Park Service photographs cour aphs courtesy Andr sy Andrea 

Bornemeier (Pipe Spring NM). ng NM). 
Pipe Spring National Monument 

Geologic Resources Inventory Report 

Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/164 

Geologic Resources Division 

Natural Resource Program Center 

P.O. Box 25287 

Denver, Colorado 80225 

January 2010 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

National Park Service 

Natural Resource Program Center 

Denver, Colorado
The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that 

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Printed copies of this report are produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as 

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Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/

NRPM). 

Please cite this publication as: 

Graham, J. 2010. Pipe Spring National Monument Geologic Resources Inventory Report. 

Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/164. National Park Service, Denver, 

Colorado. 

NPS 321/100624, January 2010 

ii NPS Geologic Resources Division 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report iii

Contents

List of Figures .............................................................................................................. iv

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... v

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

Purpose of the Geologic Resources Inventory Program.............................................................................................1

Regional Location and Landscape .............................................................................................................................1

Local Geologic Setting................................................................................................................................................2

Cultural History...........................................................................................................................................................3

Geologic Issues........................................................................................................... 13

Spring Flow Sustainability ........................................................................................................................................13

Groundwater Flow System: Research Opportunities................................................................................................14

Potential Seismic (Earthquake) Hazards ..................................................................................................................15

Preservation of Dinosaur Footprints .........................................................................................................................15

Geologic Features and Processes............................................................................. 21

Springs .....................................................................................................................................................................21

Sevier Fault ..............................................................................................................................................................21

Moccasin Monocline and Syncline............................................................................................................................22

Stratigraphic Features ..............................................................................................................................................22

Paleontology.............................................................................................................................................................22

Structural Graben (Basin).........................................................................................................................................22

Joints and Fractures.................................................................................................................................................22

Collapse Structures ..................................................................................................................................................23

Map Unit Properties .................................................................................................... 25

Geologic History.......................................................................................................... 31

Permian Period (251-299 mya).................................................................................................................................31

Triassic Period (199.6-251 mya)...............................................................................................................................31

Jurassic Period (145.5-199.6 mya)...........................................................................................................................32

Cretaceous Period (65.5-145.5 mya)........................................................................................................................32

Tertiary Period (1.81-65.5 mya)................................................................................................................................33

Quaternary Period (0-1.81 mya)...............................................................................................................................33

Glossary....................................................................................................................... 41

References................................................................................................................... 45

Appendix A: Geologic Map Graphic .......................................................................... 49

Appendix B: Scoping Summary................................................................................. 51

Attachment 1: Geologic Resources Inventory Products CD
iv NPS Geologic Resources Division

List of Figures

Figure 1. Location map of Pipe Spring National Monument and the Arizona Strip.........................................................6

Figure 2. Winsor Point and Pipe Spring National Monument. ........................................................................................5

Figure 3. Location of the four springs at Pipe Spring National Monument .....................................................................5

Figure 4. Regional location of Pipe Spring National Monument. ....................................................................................6

Figure 5. Shaded relief map showing NPS units on the Colorado Plateau and the immediate vicinity ..........................7

Figure 6. Diagrams of general fault types discussed in this report.................................................................................8

Figure 7. Monoclines on the Colorado Plateau ..............................................................................................................9

Figure 8. Stratigraphic column for Pipe Spring National Monument and vicinity ..........................................................10

Figure 9. Southwest-to-northeast geologic cross section in the Pipe Spring National Monument area........................11

Figure 10. Location of springs shown on the Moccasin, Kaibab, Pipe Valley, and Pipe Spring quadrangles...............12

Figure 11. Petroglyphs carved into Navajo Sandstone ................................................................................................12

Figure 12. Location of water level monitoring wells and water supply wells near Pipe Spring .....................................16

Figure 13. Fractured bedrock provides a conduit for groundwater flow to Pipe Spring ................................................17

Figure 14. South to north cross-section showing groundwater flow in fractured rock...................................................18

Figure 15. Possible recharge area for the springs at Pipe Spring National Monument. ...............................................19

Figure 16. Dinosaur footprints in the Navajo Sandstone within Pipe Spring National Monument ................................19

Figure 17. Winsor Castle in 1907, following the construction of Main Spring and Spring Room Spring.......................20

Figure 18. View of restored Winsor Castle and pond...................................................................................................20

Figure 19. Photograph showing the Sevier Fault and the syncline that parallels the west branch of the fault .............23

Figure 20. Geologic contact (white line) between the Navajo Sandstone and the Kayenta Formation ........................24

Figure 21. Geologic time scale.....................................................................................................................................34

Figure 22. Early Permian paleogeographic map of the western United States ............................................................35

Figure 23. Early Triassic paleogeographic map of the western United States .............................................................36

Figure 24. Early Jurassic paleogeographic map of North America ..............................................................................37

Figure 25. Cretaceous paleogeographic map of North America ..................................................................................38

Figure 26. Plate tectonic evolution along the western margin of North America ..........................................................39

Figure 27. Pleistocene paleogeographic map at the onset of the Wisconsinan stage of the Pleistocene Ice Age.......40
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report v

Executive Summary

This report accompanies the digital geologic map for Pipe Spring National Monument in 

Arizona, which the Geologic Resources Division produced in collaboration with its partners. 

It contains information relevant to resource management and scientific research. This 

document incorporates preexisting geologic information and does not include new data or 

additional fieldwork.

Established in 1923, Pipe Spring National Monument is a 

memorial to pioneer life and protects the springs that 

were so critical to both American Indians and 19th

century pioneers who settled in the arid climate of 

northwestern Arizona. The four springs that are known 

collectively as “Pipe Spring” include Main Spring, Spring 

Room Spring, Tunnel Spring, and West Cabin Spring. 

The monument’s 16 hectares (40 acres) are located in the 

Arizona Strip, a geographical area north of the Grand 

Canyon and south of Utah’s southern border.

The high plateaus that are bounded by steep cliffs in this 

part of northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah are 

part of the western margin of the larger Colorado Plateau 

geologic province. Relatively flat-lying sedimentary rock 

layers (strata) in this part of the Colorado Plateau have 

been deformed into broad folds. The sedimentary rocks 

at Pipe Spring National Monument consist of Triassic 

and Jurassic strata, composed primarily of siltstone and 

sandstone. Slopes composed of the more easily eroded 

siltstone form slope aprons at the base of the sandstone 

cliffs.

The north-south trending Sevier Fault is the primary 

structural feature in Pipe Spring National Monument. 

Strata on the west side of the fault have been moved 

downward relative to the rocks on the east side of the 

fault, so that porous and fractured Navajo Sandstone, the 

rock unit containing the principal groundwater aquifer 

in the region, lies adjacent to impermeable siltstone and 

claystone of the older Moenkopi Formation. The 

sandstone has been folded into a trough, called a 

“syncline,” which parallels the Sevier Fault and acts as a 

conduit and temporary holding pond for groundwater 

flow. 

Sustaining groundwater flow to the springs is the most 

important geologic issue at Pipe Spring National 

Monument. In 1971, the National Park Service (NPS) 

drilled a well along the Sevier Fault to supply drinking 

water to the monument. Following completion of the 

NPS well, groundwater flow to the springs began to 

decrease. In 1975, the Kaibab-Paiute Tribe drilled a well 

to supply water to Kaibab Village, further decreasing 

groundwater flow to the springs. Today, total spring flow 

comes primarily from Tunnel Spring. Main Spring and 

Spring Room Spring are dry, and the flow from West 

Cabin Spring is negligible.

Groundwater pumping is the primary cause of spring 

flow decline at Pipe Spring National Monument. If 

pumping stops, spring flow should increase. Research is 

being conducted to study the fracture zones, recharge 

areas, and groundwater pathways associated with the 

springs at Pipe Spring National Monument. Alternative 

well sites to supply water to buildings at the monument 

and to Kaibab are under consideration.

Potential seismic (earthquake) hazards also pose a 

significant geologic issue. Ground shaking may influence 

groundwater flow and damage the springs. In addition, 

Winsor Castle straddles the Sevier Fault. Most of the

400 m (1,300 ft) of displacement along the Sevier Fault 

occurred between 10,000 years and 5.3 million years ago, 

but tectonic activity continues in the region. Indeed,

estimates range from 0.07 to 0.18 millimeters per year for 

displacement rates on the Arizona portion of the Sevier 

Fault. In this area, large earthquakes with magnitudes of 

6.5 to 7.5 on the Richter scale occur infrequently, 

approximately every 5,000 to 30,000 years. However, the 

age of the last large earthquake to impact Pipe Spring 

National Monument is unknown. 

A secondary issue at Pipe Spring National Monument 

involves the preservation of dinosaur tracks that were 

discovered in 1988. The footprints were made by an 

unidentified bipedal carnivorous dinosaur.

The springs are relatively recent features at this location, 

but the colorful bands of strata in the Pipe Spring vicinity 

record a geologic history extending back in time to the 

Permian Period, about 270 million years ago. A variety of 

marine and non-marine depositional environments

inundated northwestern Arizona in the geologic past. 

Shallow marine limestone and sandstone of the Permian 

gave way to near-shore, mudflat, floodplain, and river 

environments in the Triassic Period. Evidence of these 

past environments includes ripple marks, mudcracks, 

algal features, and thin layers of gypsum. During the 

Jurassic, sand dunes covered vast areas of Utah and 

Arizona. During the Cretaceous Period, an incursion by

an inland sea that extended from the Arctic to the Gulf of 

Mexico flooded this arid environment, and inundated 

the western interior of North America. 

In the Late Cretaceous-middle Tertiary, approximately 

70 to 35 million years ago, lithospheric plate collisions 

along the western active margin of North America 

caused the Rocky Mountains to form and drained the 

inland sea from the continent. Compressive west-to-east 

tectonic forces displaced great tracts of continental crust, 

thrusting deeply buried older rocks to the surface and 

over younger strata. During this mountain building 

episode, called the Laramide Orogeny, the relatively 
vi

 NPS Geologic Resources Division

horizontal strata near Pipe Spring were folded into the 

geologic feature known as the Moccasin monocline. 

In the Miocene Epoch, about 15 million years ago, 

extensional forces began to pull apart the crust, forming 

today’s Basin-and-Range physiographic province, a 

geologic region that includes parts of the southwestern 

United States and northwestern Mexico. North-south

trending mountain ranges separated by structural basins 

with very little relief characterize today’s Basin-andRange topography. The east–west extensional stresses, 

which continue today, impacted the western margin of 

the Colorado Plateau, and reactivated the Sevier Fault, a 

remnant of an earlier Cretaceous mountain building 

episode. 

Periods of uplift and erosion over the last 65 million 

years have developed today’s landscape of high plateaus 

and steep-walled canyons that characterize the Colorado 

Plateau. Landslides are common along the Vermilion 

Cliffs and other steep escarpments that mark the borders 

of the plateaus. Alluvial deposits fan out at the bases of 

cliffs where canyons discharge sediment. In this dry 

climate, wind transports fine sand eroded from the 

ancient sand dunes of Navajo Sandstone. Amid this 

relatively harsh environment, the springs at Pipe Spring 

National Monument provided an oasis for the early 

settlers in northwestern Arizona. The springs, Winsor 

Castle, the old Whitmore-McInytre dugout, stone walls 

and other historic markers preserve a hint of what life 

was like during the pioneer days on the Arizona Strip.

The glossary on page 41 contains explanations of many 

technical terms used in this report, including terms used 

in the Map Unit Properties Table.]

Figure 1. Location map of Pipe Spring National Monument and the Arizona Strip in northwestern Arizona. National Park Service map.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 1

Introduction

The following section briefly describes the National Park Service Geologic Resources 

Inventory and the regional geologic setting of Pipe Spring National Monument.

Purpose of the Geologic Resources Inventory Program

The Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) is one of 12 

inventories funded under the National Park Service 

(NPS) Natural Resource Challenge designed to enhance 

baseline information available to park managers. The 

program carries out the geologic component of the 

inventory effort. The Geologic Resources Division of the 

Natural Resource Program Center administers this 

program. The GRI team relies heavily on partnerships 

with the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State 

University, state surveys, and others in developing GRI 

products.

The goal of the GRI is to increase understanding of the 

geologic processes at work in parks and provide sound 

geologic information for use in park decision making. 

Sound park stewardship relies on understanding natural 

resources and their role in the ecosystem. Geology is the 

foundation of park ecosystems. The compilation and use 

of natural resource information by park managers is 

called for in section 204 of the National Parks Omnibus 

Management Act of 1998 and in NPS-75, Natural 

Resources Inventory and Monitoring Guideline. 

To realize this goal, the GRI team is systematically 

conducting a scoping meeting for each of the identified 

270 natural area parks and providing a park-specific 

digital geologic map and geologic report. These products 

support the stewardship of park resources and are 

designed for nongeoscientists. Scoping meetings bring 

together park staff and geologic experts to review 

available geologic maps and discuss specific geologic 

issues, features, and processes. 

The GRI mapping team converts the geologic maps 

identified for park use at the scoping meeting into digital 

geologic data in accordance with their Geographic 

Information Systems (GIS) Data Model. These digital 

data sets bring an interactive dimension to traditional 

paper maps by providing geologic data for use in park 

GIS and facilitating the incorporation of geologic 

considerations into a wide range of resource 

management applications. The newest maps come 

complete with interactive help files. This geologic report 

aids in the use of the map and provides park managers 

with an overview of park geology and geologic resource 

management issues.

For additional information regarding the content of this 

report and current GRI contact information please refer 

to the Geologic Resources Inventory Web site 

(http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/).

Regional Location and Landscape

Pipe Spring National Monument is located south of Zion 

National Park and north of the Grand Canyon, in a 

geographical area known as the Arizona Strip (fig. 1). The 

monument, about 24 km (15 mi) west of Fredonia, 

Arizona, lies entirely within the Kaibab-Paiute Indian 

Reservation. Arizona State Highway 389 provides access 

to the monument’s 16 ha (40 ac).

The monument lies at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs 

escarpment, where Moccasin Terrace tapers to Winsor 

Point, the southernmost extent of the Vermilion Cliffs 

(fig. 2). Main Spring, Spring Room Spring, Tunnel 

Spring, and West Cabin Spring, the four springs known 

collectively as Pipe Spring, discharge at the base of 

Winsor Point (fig. 3). 

Both the Vermillion Cliffs and Moccasin Terrace are part 

of the larger Uinkaret Plateau (fig. 4). The Arizona Strip, 

Uinkaret Plateau, Vermillion Cliffs, and Pipe Spring 

National Monument all lie within the Colorado Plateau 

Province, a roughly circular region bordered by the 

Rocky Mountains to the north and east, and the Basinand-Range Province to the west and south (fig. 5). High 

plateaus and isolated mountains characterize the 

Colorado Plateau, which includes large parts of Arizona, 

Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The Colorado River, 

for which the plateau was named, drains at least 90% of 

the plateau.

Approximately 15 million years ago, plate tectonic 

interactions along the southwestern margin of North 

America generated east-west extensional stresses. These 

stresses began to extend or pull apart the crust beneath 

the Great Basin, initiating what would develop into 

today’s distinctive Basin-and-Range topography of faultbounded, narrow, north-south trending mountain ranges 

and basins (fig. 5). Crustal stretching did not extensively 

deform the Colorado Plateau, but it did leave its mark 

along the western margin of the province where normal 

faults cut deeply into the crust. The faults tilt, or dip,

steeply at the surface (50-60°) and gradually flatten at 

great depth. They are considered to be “normal” faults 

because the rocks in the “hanging wall” above the fault 

plane have moved downward relative to strata in the 

“footwall” below the fault plane (fig. 6). 

The regionally-extensive Sevier Fault bisects Pipe Spring 

National Monument and forms the eastern boundary of 

the Uinkaret Plateau (fig. 4). Strata have been displaced 

as much as 400 m (1,300 ft) along the Sevier Fault near 

Pipe Spring (Billingsley et al. 2004).

Deformation of the relatively flat strata on the Colorado 

Plateau also produced symmetrical convex and concave 

folds (anticlines and synclines, respectively) and 
2 NPS Geologic Resources Division

asymmetrical monoclines. Unlike relatively symmetrical 

anticlines and synclines, monoclines have one gentlydipping limb and one limb that dips more steeply (fig. 7). 

Monoclines, like Moccasin Monocline in the Pipe Spring 

area, are prominent features on the Colorado Plateau.

Nearly all of the Colorado Plateau is above 1,500 m 

(5,000 ft). Elevations at Pipe Spring National Monument 

range from 1,501 m (4,923 ft) to 1,554 m (5,100 ft). 

Precipitation in this semiarid climate averages 30 cm/year

(12 in/year) and occurs mostly as rainfall (Truini 1999). 

Sixty percent of the precipitation occurs during the 

winter. Wet seasons occur during the late winter and 

spring, and again with the summer monsoon that begins 

in July and ends in September. A distinct dry season 

occurs in late spring and early summer, and a lesspronounced drying occurs in the fall. High year-to-year 

variability is normal. On the Arizona Strip, elevations 

below 1,500 m (5,000 ft) generally support a sparse 

growth of sagebrush, cactus, grass, and various highdesert shrubs (Billingsley et al. 2004).

Local Geologic Setting

Stratigraphy 

About 198 m (650 ft) of Permian rock and about 1,036 m 

(3,400 ft) of Triassic and Jurassic strata comprise the 

sedimentary section in the Pipe Spring National 

Monument region. Throughout the Arizona Strip, nearly 

flat-lying Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary layers dip

to the north-northeast at about 1-2° and are gently 

warped by minor north-south-trending folds. 

Lower Triassic members of the Moenkopi Formation are 

the oldest units to crop out in or near Pipe Spring 

National Monument (fig. 8). Red siltstone and 

sandstone, gray gypsum, and gray dolomite constitute

the relatively impermeable Triassic Moenkopi 

Formation. A small cliff of white sandstone, the 

Shinarump Member of the Chinle Formation, overlies 

the red slopes of the Moenkopi Formation. The 

Shinarump cliff is overlain by multicolored green and 

blue mudstones of the Petrified Forest Member of the 

Chinle Formation. 

The lower slopes of the Vermilion Cliffs expose the redbrown claystone, siltstone, and sandstone of the Jurassic 

Moenave and Kayenta Formations. The light red and 

white, cross-bedded Jurassic Navajo Sandstone forms 

towering cliffs in the region, but is present here only as a 

thin, light-colored cap on the Vermillion Cliffs. Thicker 

outcrops of Navajo Sandstone comprise the highlands of 

Moccasin and Moquith Mountains to the north. 

Regional unconformities that represent gaps in geologic 

time separate the Triassic strata from the Jurassic strata,

and the Jurassic strata from overlying Quaternary 

deposits. 

On most of the Colorado Plateau, the transition between

the Kayenta Formation and Navajo Sandstone is clearly 

defined where the red deposits of Kayenta rivers are 

overlain by the lighter-colored Navajo sand dunes. The 

transition is complicated in the Pipe Spring National

Monument area, however, because rivers returned after 

the initial influx of dune sand. As a result, a thin unit of 

fluvial deposits called the “Tenney Canyon Tongue” of 

the Kayenta Formation and a thin sand dune unit called 

the “Lamb Point Tongue” of the Navajo Sandstone 

separate the main body of Navajo Sandstone from the 

main body of the Kayenta Formation (fig. 8). The Lamb 

Point Tongue is mapped just west of the park while the 

Tenney Canyon Tongue is mapped about 7 km

(4.4 mi) north of the park (Billingsley et al. 2004). The 

interpretation of the Navajo Sandstone in the northwest 

corner of the monument by Billingsley and others (2004) 

as the main body of the Navajo Sandstone (Jn) is 

preferred over the description in Sharrow (2009) as the 

Lamb Point tongue (Jnl) (Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, 

National Park Service, written communication, February 

1, 2010).

Quaternary sediments are widely distributed throughout 

the region and consist of unconsolidated gravel, sand, 

and finer-grained material that form fluvial deposits, 

alluvial fans, eolian sand sheets, and sand dunes. The

steep, southwestward-facing escarpment of the 

Vermilion Cliffs generate rock talus and landslide 

deposits. The only Quaternary deposits mapped within 

the monument comprise alluvial fan and stream deposits 

of silt, sand, and gravel that spread out from the base of 

the Vermilion Cliffs (Billingsley et al. 2004).

Structure

At Pipe Spring, the Sevier Fault and Moccasin Monocline 

disrupt the sinuous east-west trend of the Vermillion 

Cliffs. The Sevier Fault, which forms the principal 

structural feature at Pipe Springs National Monument, 

has offset, or moved, the cliffs east of the fault 14 km

(9 mi) to the north, leaving Winsor Point and the 

monument as relatively high ground projecting into the 

Arizona Strip (fig. 4). 

The intersection of the Sevier Fault with the ground 

surface can be traced for over 160 km (100 mi) to the 

north and south. A short segment of the Sevier Fault 

branches to the west from the main fault trace about

1.6 km (1 mi) north of Pipe Spring National Monument 

(Billingsley et al. 2004). Approximately 21 km (13 mi) 

south of the monument, the Sevier Fault acquires a 

slightly southwest – northeast trend and connects to the 

Toroweap Fault, which crosses the Grand Canyon.

Folding of the normally flat-lying strata formed the eastdipping Moccasin Monocline and elevated the landscape 

about 60-90 m (200-300 ft) west of the Sevier Fault. Strata 

on the over-steepened limb of the Moccasin Monocline 

dip east as much as 10° towards the fault. A concave, 

trough-shaped syncline at the base of the Moccasin 

Monocline parallels the trend of the west segment of the 

Sevier Fault (fig. 9). Fractured Navajo Sandstone within 

the syncline acts as a conduit for groundwater flow to 

Pipe Spring.

The west segment of the Sevier Fault, Moccasin 

Monocline, and associated syncline can be followed to 

the northwest until they reach Moccasin Mountain 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 3

about 3.2 km (2 mi) north of Moccasin, Arizona. Farther 

to the north, recent geophysical studies have found 

several joints or faults with small displacements that 

extend back to the northeast and rejoin the main Sevier 

Fault in the vicinity of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park 

in Utah (Mayerle and Urquhart 2008). Quaternary fluvial 

and eolian (wind) deposits obscure the Sevier Fault south 

of Pipe Spring National Monument (Billingsley et al. 

2004). 

Springs in the Region

Springs in the Pipe Spring area owe their existence to 

fractures associated with the Sevier Fault, joints in the 

bedrock, the juxtaposition across the Sevier Fault of 

impermeable strata against permeable sandstone, and the 

syncline at the base of Moccasin Monocline. Joints and 

fractures in the rock act as conduits for groundwater 

flow, while the porous and permeable Navajo Sandstone 

acts as a reservoir that accumulates and stores 

groundwater. The impermeable mudstones and 

siltstones of the Kayenta Formation, which underlie the 

Navajo Sandstone, act as a barrier to the downward 

percolation of groundwater, while the abundant 

claystone and gypsum in the Chinle and Moenkopi 

Formations prevent lateral groundwater leakage 

eastward across the Sevier Fault. North of the 

monument, the syncline of fractured Navajo Sandstone 

acts as a conduit to transport groundwater from north to 

south along the Sevier Fault zone (Billingsley et al. 2004; 

Martin 2007). 

Springs associated with the contact between the Navajo 

Sandstone and Kayenta Formation include Pipe Spring, 

Moccasin Spring, Upper Moccasin Springs, Red Cliffs 

Spring (Moquith Mountains), Bull Pasture Spring, Meeks 

Spring (in upper Potter Canyon), and an unnamed spring 

in Rosy Canyon, northwest of Meeks Spring (fig. 10). 

Some springs, such as Pipe Spring, Moccasin Spring, and 

the small cluster of springs known as Upper Moccasin 

Springs, are known to have discharges greater than

4 liters per minute (lpm) [>1 gallon per minute (gpm)],

while the other springs and seeps in the area have 

relatively small discharges, generally less than 4 lpm

(<1 gpm) (Billingsley et al. 2004).

Cultural History

A memorial to pioneer life, Pipe Spring National 

Monument contains a rich and storied past. Throughout 

the centuries, spring water has proved critical to survival 

on the Arizona Strip. Archeological evidence indicates 

that springs in the monument have attracted people to 

the site for the past 8,000 years (Truini et al. 2004). 

Ceramic shards, charcoal deposits, and structural 

remains from the Virgin/Kayenta Ancestral Puebloan

people (often called “Anasazi”) (approximately 1100-

1150 C.E. [Common Era]) are found in all portions of the 

monument, along with petroglyphs (called “Tumpee’po’-

ohp” by the Kaibab Paiute) and pictographs (fig. 11) 

(McKoy 2000). These early inhabitants, known as the 

E'nengweng (Old Ones, also spelled “Iinung wung”) to 

the Paiutes, Hisatsinom to the Hopi, and Anasazi to the 

Navajo, built permanent pueblos and pithouses near 

Matungwa’va (Yellow Dripping Rock), the spring later 

known as Pipe Spring. They used water from the spring 

to grow corn, beans and squash. 

One of a number of distinct Southern Paiute bands that 

have inhabited the Arizona Strip, the Kaibab Paiute 

(Kai’vi’vits) believe this area to be their ancestral home. A 

conservative estimate of their traditional territory 

includes 12,494 sq km (4,824 sq mi) (McKoy 2000). 

Early Spanish explorers and later Euro-Americans 

interacted with the Southern Paiute from 1776 to 1847. 

The first historical reference to the native peoples comes 

from two Franciscan priests, Francisco A. Dominguez 

and Silvestre Velez de Escalante, who led an expedition 

through northern parts of the Southern Paiute territory 

in 1776. Fur trappers such as Jedediah Smith, William 

Wolfskill, and Ewing Young followed the 1776 

expedition in the early 1800s. Large numbers of 

prospectors and pioneers journeyed through Southern 

Paiute territory after gold was discovered in California in 

1849. 

Slavery played a significant role in the lives of the 

Southern Paiute prior to the arrival of Mormon pioneers. 

By the early 1600s, slavery was common in the Spanish 

colonies of northern New Mexico and southern 

California. Ute and Navajo slave raiders, American 

trappers, and Spanish expeditions all enslaved Southern 

Paiutes. McKoy (2000) reports that, prior to 1860, nearly 

one-half of Paiute children were slaves. 

On October 30, 1858, Chief Naraguts, a Kaibab Paiute, 

guided Jacob Hamblin, an emissary of the Mormon 

Church, and his party of pioneers across the Utah border 

and into the Arizona Strip. They camped one night at 

Matungwa'va spring. According to one story, in order to 

prove his claim as an excellent marksman, William 

Hamblin, Jacob’s brother, took a pipe and set it on a

rock. He moved back fifty paces, and hit the pipe with 

one shot. From then on, the spring was known to Anglo 

Americans as “Pipe Spring” (Bagley 2002). 

Hamblin’s stories of abundant grasslands and scattered 

springs across the Arizona Strip encouraged Mormons to 

settle there. Soon thousands of cattle and sheep grazed 

on the Arizona Strip. The settlers and their cattle 

required a consistent, stable source of water. Pipe Spring

became one of those sources. By 1860 the spring was a 

common water hole and campsite for ranchers. 

Mormon expansion moved quickly. Settlers occupied 

the richest river valleys, reduced the game, and claimed 

the grassland and water holes as their own. In this arid 

land, control of the water meant control of all commerce. 

The Mormons’ concept of land ownership and livestock 

led to conflicts with the Indians. For example, Indians 

could not understand why Mormons could hunt deer, 

but they could not hunt cattle. Chief Black Hawk began 

leading Ute raids against Mormon settlements. Refusing 

to leave northern Arizona for a reservation in New 

Mexico, the famous Navajo warrior, Manuelito, and 

other Navajos joined Chief Black Hawk. 
4 NPS Geologic Resources Division

In 1863, James M. Whitmore, a Texas convert to 

Mormonism, received a land certificate for 65 ha (160 ac)

around Pipe Spring. He built a dugout shelter and 

proceeded to raise longhorn cattle, sheep, grape vines, 

and fruit trees. Although its roof collapsed years ago, the 

dugout’s remains can still be viewed today northeast of 

Winsor Castle (fig. 3). 

During this time, conflicts between the Indians and 

settlers intensified, primarily over the ‘theft’ of settlers’ 

livestock. In January 1866, a band of Navajos drove off 

the cattle at Pipe Spring. Whitmore and his ranch hand, 

Robert McIntyre, went to investigate and never returned. 

Two Indians, captured while hunting cattle, led a group 

of Mormon militiamen to the bodies of Whitmore and 

McIntyre. The Mormon militia retaliated and executed a 

number of Paiute men who Jacob Hamblin later learned 

had been innocent (McKoy 2000). 

This incident stirred further violence, and on April 7, 

1866, settlers Joseph Berry, Robert Berry, and his wife 

Isabella were killed by Indians at the location now 

known as Berry Knolls, about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) south of 

Colorado City (McKoy 2000). The mounting danger to 

the Mormon settlers caused Brigham Young to declare 

martial law, and to urge the abandonment of small 

frontier settlements. He advised that all settlements 

should have a minimum of 150 well-armed men (McKoy 

2000). 

Upon Whitmore’s death, Brigham Young bought the 

Pipe Spring deed from Whitmore’s widow. Young 

wanted to use the Whitmore ranch to house a tithing 

herd in the southern part of the state. Tithing, which 

amounted to a tenth of a church member’s income, was 

sometimes paid with cattle, and Pipe Spring became an 

excellent place to keep the donated cattle.

In April 1870, Young decided that a fort should be 

constructed on the side (McKoy 2000). Fort Arizona, as 

the fort was originally named, was designed to protect 

the water supply as well as the settlers in the event of an 

Indian attack. 

Fort Arizona consisted of two rectangular stone 

buildings, with stone walls connecting them to form a 

courtyard. Channelized spring water flowed through the 

fort. John Wesley Powell, who obtained supplies at Pipe 

Spring for his 1871 and 1872 Grand Canyon expeditions, 

renamed the fort “Winsor Castle” in honor of the fort’s 

first manager Anson P. Winsor. The castle was 

completed by the early part of 1872.

At about the same time that the fort was being 

constructed, the Deseret Telegraph Company was 

stringing a telegraph line from Rockville, Utah, to Kanab, 

Utah. The telegraph reached St. George, Utah, on 

January 15, 1867 and was then extended to Pipe Spring. 

Thus, Pipe Spring became the first telegraph station in 

Arizona. The arrival of the telegraph ended the isolation 

of these remote settlements, allowing the pioneers to 

communicate with the outside world.

Winsor Castle was never attacked. The nearby Kaibab 

Paiute were friendly, and on November 15, 1870, Jacob 

Hamblin and Major John Wesley Powell negotiated a 

peace treaty with the Navajo at Fort Defiance in Arizona. 

After the treaty was signed, the Navajo stopped raiding 

white settlements. However, they continued raiding 

Southern Paiute settlements, eventually causing the 

Paiutes to seek refuge with other American Indian

groups, such as the Hualapai and Havasupai. Some 

Paiute moved to more isolated places in the lower Kanab 

Creek area, or along the Colorado River in the Grand 

Canyon (McKoy 2000).

By 1879 the tithing herd had grown to 2,269 head of 

cattle and 162 horses. Products such as butter, cheese 

and beef were sold at the fort. The route through Pipe 

Spring became part of the “Honeymoon Trail,” as 

visitors from settlements farther south and east stopped 

at Winsor Castle on their way to get married at the 

Mormon temple in St. George.

In 1888, the federal government threatened to confiscate 

church lands because of the Mormon Church’s practice 

of polygamy. The church decided to sell the fort to D.F. 

Saunders, a non-Mormon cattleman. Pipe Spring was 

sold several times before becoming a national monument 

by proclamation No. 1663 on May 31, 1923 (NPS 2004). 

The springs, so critical to sustaining pioneer life, were 

one reason Pipe Spring was established as a monument 

(NPS 2004). Today, the primary historic resources at the 

monument include the Pipe Spring fort, the east cabin, 

the west cabin, and the historic-period sites of the 

Whitmore-McInytre dugout and a lime kiln (McKoy 

2000). The site also includes stone walls, the quarry trail, 

and the fort ponds (figs. 3 and 18). A vegetable garden, 

orchard, vineyard, telegraph line, and corrals have been 

restored.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 5

Figure 2. Winsor Point and Pipe Spring National Monument, as viewed from south of the monument. Winsor Point is the southernmost 

extent of the Vermillion Cliffs. Sedimentary strata include the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone (Jn) and the Kayenta Formation (Jk). The 

dotted line represents the approximate contact between the Quaternary valley surface deposits of young alluvial fan material (Qa1) and 

mixed eolian and fluvial sediments (Qae). Modified from a photograph by Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park Service.

Figure 3. Location of the four springs at Pipe Spring National Monument: Main Spring, Spring Room Spring, West Cabin Spring, and 

Tunnel Spring. Remains of Whitmore’s dugout lie near Winsor Castle. National Park Service map, modified after Martin (2007).

Jn

Jk

Qa

Qae

Pipe Spring

National Monument

Main Spring

Spring Room Spring

Tunnel

Spring

Winsor Point

West Cabin

Spring
6 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 4. Regional location of Pipe Spring National Monument (PISP). Pipe Spring National Monument (red star) lies at the southern 

end of the Vermilion Cliffs, and the springs are located west of the Sevier Fault. All of the plateaus and faults shown on the map are 

part of the larger Colorado Plateau physiographic province. ZION: Zion National Park; CEBR: Cedar Breaks National Monument; BRCA: 

Bryce Canyon National Park. Modified from Gregory (1950).
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 7

Figure 5. Shaded relief map showing National Park Service units (green) on the Colorado Plateau (outlined in white) and the immediate 

vicinity. Pipe Spring National Monument (red star) lies on the western margin of the Colorado Plateau. The Basin-and-Range Province, 

with its distinctive topography of narrow, north-south trending mountain ranges and basins, borders the Colorado Plateau to the 

northwest, west, and south. The Rocky Mountains Provinces border the Colorado Plateau to the northeast. Compiled from ESRI Arc 

Image Service, ESRI World Shaded Relief.

Wyoming

Utah

Arizona New Mexico

Nevada

Colorado

California
8 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Normal Fault

Reverse (thrust) Fault

Strike-slip Fault

Figure 6. Diagrams of general fault types discussed in this report. In a “normal” fault (top diagram), rocks in the “hanging wall” above 

the fault plane move downward relative to rocks in the “footwall” below the fault plane. These terms developed as a result of early 

mining geology. Imagine walking down the fault plane in a mine. The rocks upon which you walk are in the “footwall” while those that 

hang above your head are in the “hanging wall.” In a “reverse” fault (middle diagram), the hanging wall has moved up relative to the 

footwall. The only difference between a “reverse” fault and a “thrust” fault lies in the angle of the fault plane from the surface of the 

Earth. If the angle is more than about 15%, the fault is a “reverse” fault; if 15% or less, it’s a “thrust” fault. In a reverse fault, 

compressive forces juxtapose older (underlying), hanging wall strata against younger, footwall strata. In “strike-slip” faulting, the 

rocks on each side of the fault slide laterally past each other. Strike-slip faulting usually contains elements of normal faulting and 

reverse faulting, as well. Diagrams are from the U.S. Geological Survey, http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deform/gfaults.html, 

accessed August 2009.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 9

Figure 7. Monoclines on the Colorado Plateau. Typical of the large monoclines on the Colorado Plateau, the Island Monocline in 

Colorado National Monument has one gently dipping limb (Limb A) and one more steeply dipping limb (Limb B). The dip angle is the 

angle from a horizontal surface (line of white dots) to the yellow arrows, which approximate bedding surfaces in the sedimentary 

strata. Modified from a National Park Service/Sally Bellacqua photograph, http://www.nps.gov/colm/naturescience/

geologicformations.htm, accessed August, 2009. 

Fold axis

Limb A

Limb B
10 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Period Formation/Map Unit

(map symbol) Thickness General Description

Quaternary

(Holocene)

Artificial fill

(Qaf) Variable Alluvium and bedrock material used for construction projects other than highways

Surficial deposits

(Qs, Qfp, Qps, Qes, Qae, Qv, 

Qtr, Qg1)

Variable Unconsolidated alluvium; pebbles, sand, silt, 

and clay particles.

Eolian sand dune deposits

(Qd) Variable Fine- to coarse-grained sand.

Young alluvial fan deposits 

(Qa1)

1.5 - 12 m

(4.9-39 ft)

Light red, gray, and brown silt, fine- to coarsegrained inter-bedded sand and gravel; partly 

consolidated by gypsum, calcite, and clay.

Quaternary

(Holocene 

and 

Pleistocene)

Intermediate alluvial deposits

(Qg2, Qa2) Variable Terrace and alluvial fan deposits of interlayered clay, silt, and fine- to coarse-grained sand.

Landslide debris deposits

(Ql) Variable Detached blocks of strata.

Quaternary

(Pleistocene)

Old alluvial deposits

(Qg3, Qa3, QTg4) Variable

Older terrace and alluvial fan deposits of 

interlayered clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobbles, and

boulders.

Regional Unconformity

Jurassic

(Lower)

Navajo Sandstone

(Jn)*

457 m

(1,500 ft)

White to light red and yellow-gray, crossbedded, well-sorted, eolian (windblown) quartz 

sandstone inter-bedded with dark red 

sandstone and siltstone in the lower part.

Tenney Canyon Tongue of 

the Kayenta Formation (Jkt)

37 – 67 m

(120 - 220 ft)

Dark-red to light red-brown siltstone and

sandstone.

Lamb Point Tongue of the 

Navajo Sandstone (Jnl)*

43 - 120 m

(140 - 400 ft)

Gray-white to orange-brown, cross-bedded 

quartz sandstone.

Kayenta Formation

(Jk)

82 - 122 m

(270 - 400 ft)

Dark red and light red-brown, calcareous 

mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone. 

Moenave Formation

(Jm, Jms, Jmw, Jmd)

90 - 137 m

(295 - 449 ft) Varicolored sandstone, siltstone and claystone. 

Regional Unconformity

Triassic

(Upper)

Chinle Formation

(TRc, TRcp, TRcs)

186 - 248 m

(610 - 814 ft)

Varicolored conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, 

claystone, and limestone. 

Regional Unconformity

Triassic

(Lower)

Moenkopi Formation

(TRm, TRmu, TRms, TRmm, 

TRmv, TRml)

186 - 217 m

(610 - 712 ft)

Red-brown, thin-bedded gypsiferous siltstone 

and sandstone; white to light gray, laminated to 

thinly bedded, dolomite inter-bedded with light 

gray, calcareous silty gypsum; light-gray, thinbedded to laminated limestone.

Regional Unconformity

Permian

(Lower)

Kaibab Formation

(Pk, Pkh, Pkf)

125 m

(410 ft)

Red and gray siltstone, sandstone, and gypsum 

and gray limestone. 

Figure 8. Stratigraphic column for Pipe Spring National Monument and vicinity. Units exposed in Pipe Spring National Monument are 

colored. The formations and members within the formations are explained in detail in the Map Unit Properties Table.

* = The interpretation of the Navajo Sandstone in the northwest corner of the monument by Billingsley and others (2004) as the main 

body of the Navajo Sandstone (Jn) is preferred over the description in Sharrow (2009) as the Lamb Point tongue (Jnl). (D. Sharrow, 

hydrologist, National Park Service, written communication, February 1, 2010).
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 11

Figure 9. Southwest-to-northeast geologic cross section displaying an interpretation of the Moccasin Monocline, the associated 

syncline that formed west of the Sevier Fault, and the general subsurface geology in the Pipe Spring National Monument area. 

Groundwater (blue arrows) percolates through porous and fractured Navajo Sandstone (Jn) until it encounters the underlying, 

relatively impermeable Kayenta Formation (Jk). Groundwater flow is then directed downhill, into the syncline (the concave folded rock 

units) on the west side of the Sevier Fault. Impermeable strata east of the Sevier Fault inhibits groundwater flow across the fault, 

forcing groundwater to flow along bedding planes and fractures in the syncline until it intersects the land surface and emerges as 

springs, such as Pipe Spring and Moccasin Spring. The C – C’ transect is located north of the monument, and the symbols for the rock 

strata are the same as those found on the map in Attachment 1. Quaternary (Q), Jurassic (J), Triassic (TR), and Permian (P) units 

significant to Pipe Spring National Monument are described in detail in the Map Unit Properties Table and throughout this report. 

Modified from Billingsley and others (2004), available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sim/sim2863, accessed April 6, 2007. 

Southwest Northeast

Synclinal 

trough of 

fractured 

bedrock on 

west side of 

fault

Impermeable 

bedrock on 

east side of 

fault inhibits 

groundwater 

flow across 

the fault
12 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 10. Location of springs shown on the Moccasin, Kaibab, Pipe Valley, and Pipe Spring U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute 

quadrangles, Mohave County, northern Arizona. Pipe Spring, Moccasin Spring, and Upper Moccasin Springs (marked in dark blue) 

generally have discharges greater than 4 lpm (>1 gpm). U.S. Geological Survey map modified from Billingsley and others (2004),

available at http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sim/sim2863, accessed April 6, 2007. 

Figure 11. Petroglyphs carved into Navajo Sandstone. The dark coating on the surface of the sandstone is “desert varnish,” a surface 

coating of manganese or iron oxide common to the deserts of the southwestern United States. National Park Service photograph.

36o52'30"

KAIBAB

PIPE VALLEY PIPE SPRING

112o52'30" 112o45' 112o37'30"

37o00'

36o45'

CEDAR RIDGE

SpringSpring

Spring

Wooley

Spring

PARASHONT CANYON

Bull Pasture

Spring

Willow

Spring

Burnt Corral

Spring

Moccasin

Spring

Upper 

Moccasin 

Springs

Meeks

Spring

Wolf

Spring

Pine

Spring

Aulson

Spring

Point

Spring

Red Cliffs

Spring

Twomile

Seep

Pipe

Spring

Moonshine

Spring

Spring

Spring

Spring

MOCCASIN
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 13

Geologic Issues

The Geologic Resources Division held a Geologic Resources Inventory scoping session for

Pipe Spring National Monument on June 28, 2001, to discuss geologic resources, address 

the status of geologic mapping, and assess resource management issues and needs. This

section synthesizes the scoping results, in particular those issues that may require 

attention from resource managers.

The primary geologic issue facing park resource 

management is the sustainability of groundwater flow to 

the springs. Other issues include potential earthquake 

activity and the preservation of dinosaur footprints that 

were discovered in 1988. Additional information and 

references regarding physical resources and issues within 

Pipe Spring National Monument may be found in 

Sharrow (2009). Contact the Geologic Resources 

Division for technical assistance.

Spring Flow Sustainability

In the spring of 1971, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),

under the direction of the National Park Service (NPS),

drilled five test wells in an attempt to find a water supply 

to replace or supplement water from Pipe Spring. The 

wells were drilled in alluvium along Twomile and South 

Moccasin Washes, but they were either dry or produced 

poor-quality water. The NPS had little choice but to 

complete a water supply well in the Navajo Sandstone 

along the Sevier Fault, despite the possibility that 

pumping groundwater from the fault zone may cause 

flow from Pipe Spring to decline (McKoy 2000; Martin 

2007). 

Following completion of the NPS well in 1971, park staff 

noticed a decline in flow from the springs. In 1975, the 

Kaibab-Paiute Tribe determined that its original well at 

Kaibab Village was no longer adequate (McKoy 2000; 

Martin 2007). The Tribe completed a water supply well 

in 1980 at a location 200 m (700 ft) southwest of the NPS 

well. This well was also drilled along the Sevier Fault 

zone (fig. 12).

As a result of declining spring flow, the NPS initiated a 

routine spring flow monitoring program in July of 1976. 

Prior to this program, very few measurements from the 

springs had been collected (Martin 2007). The earliest 

NPS measurements occurred in September 1933 and 

May 1934, recording flows of 159 liters per minute (lpm)

(42 gallons per minute; gpm) and 163 lpm (43 gpm), 

respectively. Four measurements between March 1959 

and July 1976 recorded flows ranging from 121 lpm (32 

gpm) to 144 lpm (38 gpm). Whether these reported flows 

represent the cumulative discharge from all of the spring 

outlets or only the flow from the springs at Winsor Castle 

is not known (Martin 2007).

Since July 1976, flows at West Cabin Spring, Tunnel 

Spring, and the cistern in the courtyard of the Castle have

been measured at regular intervals. Flow at the cistern is 

the combined flow from Main Spring and Spring Room 

Spring. Monthly discharge data record a decreased 

outflow from the springs from 1976 to 1985, primarily 

due to declining flow from the courtyard cistern. Flow 

from Tunnel Spring increased after 1990, but flow from 

the cistern decreased. Measurements were not collected 

at Tunnel Spring from September 1999 to September 

2003, due to construction. 

There has been no natural flow from Main Spring or 

Spring Room Spring since flow ceased from the 

courtyard cistern in 1999. Total spring flow at the 

monument averaged 49 lpm (13 gpm) from September 

2003 to April 2007. Total spring flow primarily reflects 

flow from Tunnel Spring, as West Cabin Spring adds less 

than 2 lpm (0.5 gpm) to the total (Dave Sharrow, 

hydrologist, National Park Service, written 

communication, October 30, 2008). Monitoring data 

record a continuing trend of decreasing spring flow 

(Martin 2007).

Field mapping, computer modeling, and electromagnetic 

surveys have helped show that groundwater flow to the 

springs at Pipe Spring is controlled by the surrounding 

geologic structure (Billingsley et al. 2004; Truini et al. 

2004; Sabol 2005; Martin 2007). The synclinal trough that 

parallels the West Branch of the Sevier Fault is a

300-490 m (1,000-1,600 ft) wide fracture zone of Navajo 

Sandstone that acts as a conduit for groundwater flow, 

directing flow from north to south. During 

reconstruction of Tunnel Spring in 2001, groundwater 

was seen seeping from fractures in the Kayenta 

Formation (fig. 13).

The groundwater flow system is impacted by 

geomorphology in addition to geologic structure. The 

east-west trending Moccasin Canyon intercepts the 

synclinal trough and divides the Navajo aquifer into two 

nearly separate systems north and south of the canyon 

(Martin 2007). The wash and the alluvium filling the 

wash cut across the saturated zone of the Navajo aquifer

where the trough crosses Moccasin Wash (fig. 14). The 

alluvium that fills Moccasin Wash has a lower 

permeability than the fractured Navajo Sandstone so 

impedes groundwater flow from north to south. Some of 

the groundwater discharges at Moccasin Spring on the 

north side of Moccasin Wash, and some groundwater 

diverts to the east and exits the flow system associated 

with the Sevier Fault (Sabol 2005; Martin 2007). This 

groundwater is no longer available to the springs at Pipe 

Spring. 

Moccasin Spring, which lies 5.6 km (3.5 mi) northwest of 

Pipe Spring (fig. 12), is a critical water source for 
14 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Moccasin, Arizona (Martin 2007). Assuming that both 

springs have the same groundwater source, the 

groundwater gradient between Moccasin Spring and 

Pipe Spring is about 11 m/km (57 ft/mi). Both springs 

discharge at the base of the east-dipping Moccasin 

Monocline, and are at or near the contact of the Navajo 

Sandstone and the Kayenta Formation (Billingsley et al. 

2004). Like Pipe Spring, Moccasin Spring is associated 

with north-south and northwest-southeast oriented 

bedrock joints and fractures.

South of Moccasin Canyon, precipitation that infiltrates 

to the Navajo aquifer on Moccasin Mountain flows 

easterly and is concentrated in fractured rocks in the 

synclinal trough. Consequently, spring flow at Pipe

Spring National Monument represents a small, local 

groundwater system limited to the little groundwater 

flow not captured by Moccasin Wash and to recharge 

from southern Moccasin Mountain, south of Moccasin 

Canyon (fig. 15) (Sabol 2005; Martin 2007). 

Monitoring data from a number of studies have shown a 

clear correlation between groundwater pumping from 

the NPS and Tribal supply wells and the decline of flow 

from the springs (Martin 2007). Barrett and Williams 

(1986) concluded that the cumulative effects of 

groundwater pumping from wells along the Sevier Fault 

north of the monument caused spring flow to decline. 

Inglis (1990) found that water levels in the immediate 

vicinity of the NPS and Tribal supply wells declined 

about 2 m (5 ft) from 1971 to 1989. Continuous 

monitoring showed that water levels quickly recovered

following a 24-hour pump test of the NPS and Tribal 

supply wells (Inglis 1997). Similar results were noted 

following a December 2006 pump test of the new NPS 

well, suggesting that the aquifer is relatively open and 

gives up water freely (Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, 

National Park Service, written communication, January 

15, 2010). Barrett and Williams (1986) and Martin (2007)

concluded that the decline in spring flow was related to 

pumping activity at the wells rather than natural 

variations in precipitation. 

Water levels have been monitored since 1976 in a USGS 

monitoring well located north of the NPS and Tribal 

supply wells, and since 1989 in a NPS monitoring well 

drilled south of the supply wells (fig. 12). Water levels in 

these monitoring wells have declined about 0.1 m (0.3 ft) 

per year since the initiation of groundwater pumping. 

Seasonal fluctuations occur in both the NPS monitoring 

well (0.01 m; 0.04 feet) and spring discharge (7-11 lpm;

2-3 gpm) (Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park

Service, written communication, October 30, 2008).

If the NPS and Kaibab-Paiute Tribe continue to pump 

groundwater from their supply wells, discharge from the 

springs at the monument is likely to continue to decline, 

and eventually the springs will cease flowing (Martin 

2007). Conversely, if pumping stops, spring flow should 

increase. Water levels in the aquifer would probably 

recover, and flow from the springs at Pipe Spring 

National Monument would probably increase, if the NPS 

and Tribal supply wells were relocated north of 

Moccasin, or if another source of water could be 

imported into the area (Martin 2007). For additional 

details, refer to Sharrow (2009).

Groundwater Flow System: Research Opportunities

In 2002, seismic reflection and refraction surveys 

conducted north of the monument identified previously 

undetected faults. However, the faults were unlikely to 

contain much groundwater (Rymer et al. 2007; Martin 

2007). A seismic -refraction survey in 2004 attempted to 

identify discrete fracture zones and local groundwater 

flow paths to individual spring openings (Truini et al. 

2004). The data indicated that saturated conditions exist 

near West Cabin Spring and in an area east of Winsor 

Castle on Winsor Point. However, the survey was unable 

to resolve geologic features at the level of detail 

necessary to identify small fracture zones that partially 

control groundwater movement. Suggestions for future 

research included using direct resistivity methods to map 

the two-dimensional distribution of electrical properties 

within the monument. Such a map could better delineate 

faults and fractures, as well as relationships among these 

structures, groundwater movement and spring discharge

(Truini et al. 2004).

During the summer and fall of 2007, two additional 

geophysical studies were conducted. In one study, a 

private contractor conducted an electrical resistivity 

survey in the Moccasin Mountain recharge area, about 

10 km (6 mi) north of the monument (Mayerle and 

Urquhart 2008). A resistivity survey introduces an 

electric current into the ground and measures the 

difficulty with which the current flows through 

unconsolidated sediment and rock. 

The object of the Moccasin Mountain survey was to map 

subsurface changes in resistivity as a way to identify 

changes in pore space and pore fluids. For example, 

resistivity of fractured, saturated bedrock often is lower 

than resistivity in unfractured surrounding material.

Controlled Source Audio-frequency Magnetotellurics 

(CSAMT) geophysical data was acquired along two lines. 

Both lines showed similar results.

In general, the study identified a moderately resistant 

layer of Navajo Sandstone underlain by more resistant 

Jurassic sandstones, most probably the Kayenta 

Formation, that act as a barrier to downward percolation 

of groundwater. The high resistivity layer of Jurassic 

sandstone units rested above the more conductive 

Chinle Formation, buried to a depth of approximately 

180-240 m (590-780 ft) below the surface on the eastern 

end of the survey lines. The data also indicate several 

possible water-filled fractures in the Kayenta 

Formation—a finding that is relevant to Pipe Spring 

National Monument. Further research using transient 

electromagnetic techniques (TEM) may be able to 

enhance the resolution of these fractures and detect the 

presence of water in the subsurface (Mayerle and 

Urquhart 2008).

A second study, conducted by the USGS, ran direct 

current resistivity transects in the vicinity of the springs 

to resolve the degree of fracturing and groundwater 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 15

saturation in the immediate area. One transect crossed

the tip of Winsor Point just upslope from the fort and the 

other two were east-west lines 0.8 km (0.5 mi) and 1.6 km 

(1 mi) north of the monument. The objective of the study 

is to delineate discrete fracture zones that may be 

pathways for groundwater flow to individual springs 

(Martin 2007; Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park

Service, written communication, October 4, 2007). 

The amount of groundwater that flows from north to 

south across, or under, Moccasin Wash remains to be 

evaluated. Resolution of this issue would help identify 

the recharge area for the groundwater system feeding the 

spring. The question remains as to whether the cause of 

spring flow decline is almost entirely due to groundwater 

pumping from the NPS and Tribal supply wells, or if 

groundwater pumping at Moccasin and north of 

Moccasin significantly contributes to the decline of 

spring flow. An improved understanding of the 

geohydrology in this area would improve the ability to 

evaluate the benefits and risks of moving park and Tribal 

wells to a location north of Moccasin Wash.

Geochemical sampling of groundwater along with 

additional geophysical surveys may be useful in 

determining the degree of separation or interconnection 

of groundwater in the fracture zone north and south of 

Moccasin Wash. Again, this information would help 

determine if relocating wells to the area north of 

Moccasin would impact groundwater levels south of 

Moccasin Wash.

Potential Seismic (Earthquake) Hazards

Ground shaking caused by movement on the northsouth trending Sevier Fault that bisects Pipe Spring 

National Monument may disrupt the groundwater flow 

system by closing or opening fractures. Faulting may also

realign the lateral juxtaposition of impermeable beds 

against permeable Navajo Sandstone. In addition, the 

west corner of Winsor Castle is built on the west 

(downward moving) side of the Sevier Fault while the 

east corner is on the fault’s east (upward moving) side.

Most of the 400 m (1,300 ft) of normal fault displacement 

along the Sevier Fault occurred between 5.3 million years 

and 10,000 years ago, during Pliocene and Pleistocene 

time (Billingsley et al. 2004). At Black Mountain, 

approximately 50 km (30 mi) north of Pipe Spring, 

estimates of vertical slip rates on the Sevier Fault from

the middle Miocene (15 million years ago) to the present

range from 0.03 mm/year (0.001 in/year) to 0.07 mm/year 

(0.003 in/year) (Lund et al. 2008). South of Pipe Spring 

National Monument, middle Quaternary (1 million years 

ago) displacement rates for the Sevier/Toroweap Fault 

where it crosses the western Grand Canyon range from 

0.07 mm/year (0.003 in/year) to 0.18 mm/year

(0.007 in/year) (Fenton et al. 2001). The current vertical 

slip rate along the Sevier Fault in Utah is <0.1 mm/year

(Lund et al. 2008).

To put these slippage rates into perspective, 

displacement rates on the Sevier Fault are similar to 

those for the Hurricane Fault, where the seismic hazard 

is more recognized. They are one-hundredth the slip rate 

of the San Andreas Fault.

The Sevier Fault has the capability of producing a 

magnitude 7.3 - 7.5 earthquake. However, large 

earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.5 - 7.5 on the Richter 

scale are rare in this area. The 1992 St. George 

earthquake recorded a magnitude of 5.8. Since 1987, 

more than 40 earthquakes with magnitudes greater or 

equal to 2.5 have occurred in northwestern Arizona, 

including the magnitude 5.4 Cataract Canyon 

earthquake, which occurred between Flagstaff, Arizona, 

and the Grand Canyon in 1993 (Lund et al. 2002). These 

earthquakes did not rupture the surface at Pipe Spring 

National Monument.

Estimating the recurrence interval of major earthquakes

capable of breaking the surface involves considerable 

uncertainty because of the low slip rates. Because the slip 

rates are so low, many years are required to build up

sufficient stress to produce a major surface-rupturing 

earthquake. The average recurrence interval for surface 

faulting on the active Hurricane Fault (northwest 

Arizona and southwest Utah) ranges from several 

thousand to possibly more than 10,000 years. Slippage 

along the Sevier Fault at Black Mountain occurred every 

4,400 to 5,300 years during the late Pleistocene, but the 

current recurrence interval between surface-faulting 

earthquakes on the Sevier Fault is estimated to be at least

~30,000 years (Lund et al. 2008). 

Furthermore, the lengthy Sevier/Toroweap Fault appears 

to be broken into seismic segments that may move 

independently of one another (Lund et al. 2008). Recent 

movement on the Sevier Fault segment near Pipe Spring 

National Monument has been less than movements on 

segments to the north, near Panguich, Utah, or segments

to the south at Grand Canyon (Dave Sharrow, 

hydrologist, National Park Service, written 

communication, October 30, 2008). 

The age of the last large earthquake to disrupt Pipe 

Spring National Monument is unknown. The lack of a 

surface scarp in the vicinity suggests that a large 

earthquake has not occurred in an exceptionally long 

time. All of Pipe Spring National Monument is within the 

potential zone of deformation that would occur from a 

large earthquake. Surface rupture along the fault could

be very destructive.

Preservation of Dinosaur Footprints

In 1988, three dinosaur footprints were discovered 2 m 

(6 ft) above the base of the Navajo Sandstone within Pipe 

Spring National Monument (fig. 16) (Stokes 1988; Cuffey 

et al. 1998; Santucci et al. 1998). The tracks are imprints 

from a tridactyl (three-toed) therapod, a bipedal 

carnivore with grasping hands and clawed digits. 

Suggestions in 1998 to manage and interpret the 

footprints included the following (Cuffey et al. 1998):

• Add an exhibit in the Visitor Center and a plaque at the 

site of the footprints,

• Install a protective fence or railing around the tracks,
16 NPS Geologic Resources Division

• Produce a site bulletin 

Since 1998, all wayside exhibits at Pipe Spring National 

Monument have been updated, so the stratigraphic error 

that labeled the Kayenta Formation as Chinle has been 

corrected. No other action has occurred regarding the 

tracks (Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park

Service, written communication, October 4, 2007).

Monitoring strategies for in situ paleontological 

resources are suggested by Santucci and others (2009).

Figure 12. Location of water level monitoring wells and water supply wells near Pipe Spring (red star). Water levels have been 

measured at the USGS monitoring well since 1976, and at the NPS monitoring well since 1989. Moccasin Canyon intercepts the 

syncline that parallels the west segment of the Sevier Fault (dashed line) and some groundwater is diverted to Moccasin Spring (yellow 

star). The blue line that cuts Moccasin Spring marks the location of the cross-section presented in figure 14. National Park Service 

graphic modified from Martin (2007).

Moccasin Canyon

(Moccasin Wash)

West Segment of

Sevier Fault

Main Segment of

Sevier Fault
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 17

Figure 13. Fractured bedrock provides a conduit for groundwater flow to Pipe Spring. Vertical fractures and joints cut the Jurassic 

sandstone that crops out on Winsor Point in the upper photograph. Buried in the syncline west of the Sevier Fault (fig. 9), these 

fractures provide a conduit for groundwater flow. In the lower photograph, groundwater seeps from fractured bedrock in the upper 

layers of the Kayenta Formation in the open adit, or horizontal passageway, during reconstruction of Tunnel Spring in 2001. Upper 

photograph by Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park Service. Lower photograph modified from Truini and others (2004; courtesy 

Margot Truini, U.S. Geological Survey)

Kayenta Formation

Fracture

marker flag

marker flag
18 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Pipe Spring 

Figure 14. South to north cross-section showing groundwater flow (blue arrows) from north to south in the fractured rock associated with the west segment of the Sevier 

Fault. Groundwater flows through fractured Navajo Sandstone (Jn) until it reaches a low permeability (k) zone in Moccasin Canyon alluvium, which impedes groundwater flow. Some of the groundwater emerges at Moccasin Spring; some is intercepted by the sediments filling Moccasin Wash and flows into valley alluvium to the east; and some of the groundwater continued to flow south toward the NPS and Tribal potable supply wells and eventually Pipe Spring. The location of cross-section X-X’ is indicated 

by the blue line in figure 12. Modified from Sabol (2005). 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 19

Figure 15. Possible recharge area (shaded green) for the springs at Pipe Spring National Monument (red star). Modified from Martin 

(2007) and Sabol (2005). 

Figure 16. Dinosaur footprints (circled) in the Navajo Sandstone within Pipe Spring National Monument. The right footprint is about 30 

cm (12 in) long toe tip to heel. National Park Service photograph courtesy Andrea Bornemeier (Pipe Spring NM).

Recharge

Area
20 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 17. Winsor Castle in 1907, following the construction of Main Spring and Spring Room Spring. National Park Service photograph 

courtesy Andrea Bornemeier (Pipe Spring NM).

Figure 18. View of restored Winsor Castle and pond. Spring water was discharged from Winsor Castle into the pond. Much of the 

building stone for the historic structures was obtained from the red rocks of the Kayenta Formation. National Park Service photograph 

courtesy Andrea Bornemeier (Pipe Spring NM).
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 21

Geologic Features and Processes

This section describes the most prominent and distinctive geologic features and processes 

in Pipe Spring National Monument.

Springs

The four springs within Pipe Spring National Monument 

(fig. 3) sustained early human settlement in the area and 

provided the catalyst for national monument status. 

Main Spring and Spring Room Spring are not natural

springs; they were constructed between 1870 and 1900

by Mormon pioneers (figs. 17 and 18). As historically 

configured, a cistern in the courtyard of Winsor Castle

gathered water from Spring Room Spring, located under 

the Parlor in the western corner of the structure. From 

the cistern, water was piped into the Spring Room, 

providing cooling for cheese-making that occurred 

there. The water was then discharged out of the building 

and into the ponds. A subsurface bark-lined channel 

connected the cistern with Main Spring, which is a short 

distance south of the fort walls. The Main Spring pool 

also may have received direct groundwater inflow.

Drilled into the hillside between 1902 and 1907, Tunnel 

Spring is a horizontal passage that captures groundwater 

as it moves slowly through the aquifer (fig. 13). West 

Cabin Spring (previously known as Calf Pasture Spring) 

is a small, undeveloped spring located on the hillside 

above West Cabin (Truini et al. 2004; Martin 2007).

The configuration of spring flow in the historic Winsor 

Castle structure changed in 2002 after discharge from 

Main Spring and Spring Room Spring ceased. The tunnel 

of Tunnel Spring was stabilized in 2000 to protect what 

had become the primary spring. Since the stabilization, 

water has been pumped from Tunnel Spring up to the 

Spring Room and ponds.

Springs may occur where faults block the lateral 

movement of groundwater, or where permeable rock has 

been removed by erosion. At Pipe Spring National 

Monument, both conditions occur. The porous Navajo 

Sandstone and the upper sandstone layers of the Kayenta 

Formation have been folded, fractured, and offset by the 

north-south trending Sevier Fault. The high-angle, westdipping fault plane of the Sevier Fault acts as a partial 

barrier to the eastward flow of groundwater. Abundant 

claystone and gypsum in the Chinle and Moenkopi 

Formations east of the Sevier Fault are relatively 

impermeable and prevent groundwater leakage through 

the fault. Groundwater accumulates on the west side of 

the fault and is forced to flow along the bedding planes 

and fractures in the sandstone until it intersects the land 

surface and emerges as spring flow. Thus, spring 

discharge at Pipe Spring represents the overflow at the 

lower extremity of a groundwater system, at the point 

where the fractured permeable rocks that carry the water 

intersect the surface topography (fig. 9).

Sevier Fault

The Sevier Fault originally formed in the Mesozoic Era 

as a reverse fault. While normal faults form from 

extension of the crust, reverse faults are generated by 

compression of the crust (fig. 6). Strata above the fault 

plane in a reverse fault have moved up and over strata 

below the fault plane. During the Jurassic-to-Cretaceous 

Sevier Orogeny (mountain-building episode), easterlydirected compressive forces emplaced Paleozoic strata 

from California and western Nevada onto younger 

Mesozoic strata in Arizona, Utah, and eastern Nevada. 

The Sevier Fault is the ramp-like contact between the 

base of these older rocks and the younger strata.

In the Late Miocene, about 15 million years ago, the crust 

in the southwestern United States began to be pulled 

apart. Crustal stretching generated the regional, northsouth trending normal faults that border the mountain 

ranges and adjacent basins of today’s Basin-and-Range

province. When the crust began to be pulled apart, the 

Sevier Fault was reactivated as a normal fault. 

Evidence of the Sevier Fault is present in the vicinity of 

Pipe Spring, although the fault trace is not directly visible 

in the monument (fig. 19). The Shinarump Member of 

the Chinle Formation is displaced about 73 m (240 ft) 

along the main segment of the Sevier Fault, near South 

Moccasin Wash, 3 km (2 mi) north of the junction of the 

main segment and the west segment. The resulting 

escarpment forms a colorful slope of red Moenkopi 

Formation, capped by white sandstone of the Shinarump 

Member of the Chinle Formation. A segment of the 

Sevier Fault is partly visible between landslide deposits at 

the base of the Vermilion Cliffs, about 5 km (3 mi) north 

of South Moccasin Wash. Farther to the north, poor 

exposures of the fault are present in small drainages 

southwest of Blue Knolls, where the fault surface appears 

to dip west about 70° to 75° (Billingsley et al. 2004). The 

main segment of the Sevier Fault parallels the east-facing 

Vermilion Cliffs to Sandy Canyon Wash, where it then 

continues north into Utah, east of Coral Pink Sand 

Dunes State Park.

South of the monument, fluvial and eolian deposits 

obscure the fault because erosion of soft, easily-eroded 

rocks on both sides of the fault has worn the land surface 

evenly, although several hundred feet of displacement 

has occurred across the fault. Strata exposed on the east 

side of the fault in a drainage 1.6 km (1 mi) south of the 

monument dip west, into the fault, by as much as 45°. 

The Sevier Fault bends to the southwest and connects to 

the north-south trending Toroweap Fault about 40 km 

(25 mi) south of Pipe Spring (Billingsley et al. 2004). 
22 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Moccasin Monocline and Syncline

Monoclines on the Colorado Plateau (fig. 7), such as 

Moccasin Monocline, developed in response to the Late 

Cretaceous to mid-Eocene Laramide Orogeny. The 

Laramide Orogeny was another mountain-building 

episode resulting from the collision of the North 

American continent with the oceanic plate to the west. In 

contrast to the older Sevier Orogeny, the Laramide 

Orogeny displaced not only Paleozoic strata, but also 

deep crustal blocks of Precambrian rock. Reverse or 

thrust fault displacement occurred primarily along preexisting Precambrian fault zones (Huntoon 2003; 

Billingsley et al. 2004). Strata above these deep-rooted 

thrust planes were folded into graceful monoclinal 

landforms like Moccasin Monocline.

The syncline that acts as a conduit for groundwater flow 

lies at the base of Moccasin Monocline (fig. 19). A 

flexure in the Vermilion Cliffs, just west of Pipe Spring, is 

the subtle topographic expression of this syncline 

(Billingsley et al. 2004). The Sevier Fault, Moccasin 

Monocline, and associated syncline all trend parallel to 

the west side of the paved road between Pipe Spring 

National Monument and Moccasin, Arizona. About 3 km 

(2 mi) north of Pipe Spring, the monocline and syncline 

gradually die out into Moccasin Mountain. The 

monocline and syncline also gradually disappear 

southwest of Pipe Spring.

Stratigraphic Features

The multicolored bands of Triassic and Jurassic strata 

that are visible from the monument contain a variety of 

sedimentary features. Ancient ripple marks and 

mudcracks have been preserved in the reddish-brown 

and greenish-gray, Lower Triassic Moenkopi Formation.

White layers of gypsum are found among the dolomite, 

claystone, and siltstone of the Shnabkaib Member. 

Cross-bedded sandstones characterize the Shinarump 

Member of the overlying, Upper Triassic Chinle 

Formation, which is exposed east of Pipe Spring in the 

Shinarump Cliffs. The Petrified Forest Member of the 

Chinle Formation contains petrified wood in the Blue 

Knolls area (Billingsley et al. 2004). Conglomerate and 

sandstone fill river channels that eroded into underlying 

sediment during the Triassic.

Cross-beds, fossilized plant remains, fish scales, algal 

laminations, and rip-up clasts (semi-consolidated mud 

eroded by a high-energy flow) are present in the Jurassic 

Moenave Formation. The thick-bedded sandstone of the 

Springdale Sandstone Member forms the conspicuous 

layer along the bottom one-third of the Vermilion Cliffs.

The dark red and light red-brown calcareous mudstone, 

siltstone, and sandstone of the Kayenta Formation 

record river channels, floodplains, and shallow lake 

environments that characterized the region prior to 

inundation by Navajo sand dunes. High-angle, crossbedded sandstone is the prominent sedimentary feature

in the cliff-forming Navajo Sandstone. These cross-beds 

represent ancient sand dunes that were once part of an 

extensive sand sea, or erg, that spread across Utah and 

Arizona. In Zion National Park, north of the monument, 

exposures of the main body of Navajo Sandstone display 

this world-renowned cross-bedding. At Pipe Spring 

National Monument, the Navajo Sandstone forms an 

erosion-resistant cap above the Kayenta Formation

(fig. 20).

Paleontology

The three tridactyl dinosaur footprints preserved within

Pipe Spring National Monument lie in an orange-red,

cross-bedded sandstone 2 m (6 ft) above the base of the 

Early Jurassic Navajo Sandstone (fig. 16) (Santucci et al. 

1998; Cuffey et al. 1998). Preservation is poor, but the 

footprints have been identified as belonging to the fossil 

footprint genus Eubrontes, a name which means “true 

thunder.” The fossil footprint species has not yet been 

determined, but reasonable possibilities include 

Eubrontes approximatus, Eubrontes divaricatus, 

Eubrontes giganteus, Eubrontes platypus, or Eubrontes 

tuberatus (Cuffey et al. 1998). 

The actual dinosaur that created the Eubrontes footprints 

is currently unknown. No skeletal remains have ever 

been found associated with Eubrontes tracks, either at 

Pipe Spring or any other site where Eubrontes prints have 

been discovered (Coffey et al. 1998). The size of the 

tracks at Pipe Spring suggests that they are the prints of a 

moderately large theropod. The best-preserved print at 

Pipe Spring National Monument (fig. 16) measures 30 cm 

(12 in) long from toe-tip to heel and about as wide 

between the tips of the two lateral toes. 

Eubrontes footprints are best known from the 

Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts, where they 

were discovered in 1802. Once thought to be restricted 

to eastern North America, Eubrontes tracks have been 

frequently identified in sandstones on the Colorado 

Plateau (Lockley and Hunt 1994).

Structural Graben (Basin)

An unusual graben, or structural basin bounded by 

normal faults, has formed in the Vermilion Cliffs 3 km

(2 mi) north of Kaibab, Arizona (Billingsley et al. 2004). 

The north-south trending graben cuts through the 

southeast tip of Moccasin Mountain, where the Navajo 

Sandstone records about 60 m (200 ft) of normal-fault 

offset. At its northern end, the graben turns sharply east 

toward the Sevier Fault. Displacement at its northern 

extension is about 49 m (160 ft). 

Faulted down into the graben, the Navajo Sandstone slid 

southward on a surface of mudstone and siltstone in the 

lower part of the Kayenta Formation. As they slid, the 

sandstone beds in the landslide rotated backward so that 

when they came to rest, they dipped to the north towards 

the wall from which they detached. The normal faults 

terminate within the mudstones and siltstones of the 

Kayenta Formation.

Joints and Fractures

Joints and fractures break the limestone units of the 

Kaibab Formation and the hard sandstones found in the 

Navajo Sandstone, Kayenta Formation, Shinarump 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 23

Member of the Chinle Formation, and Springdale 

Sandstone Member of the Moenave Formation (fig. 20). 

In Moccasin Canyon and Moccasin Mountain,

northwest of Pipe Spring National Monument, joints and 

fractures have four orientations: north-south, northeast, 

northwest, and east-west. The two most common joint 

sets are oriented northeast and northwest (Billingsley et 

al. 2004). 

Open cracks in the canyon walls in Moccasin Canyon 

formed from the abundant northwest- and northoriented joints and fractures in the Navajo Sandstone. 

The joint and fracture planes parallel the trend of the 

Moccasin Monocline.

Collapse Structures

Circular bowl-shaped features with inward-dipping 

strata have been mapped in the Pipe Spring area and 

identified as collapse structures. Dissolution of the 

deeply buried Mississippian (359-318 million years ago)

Redwall Limestone or dissolution of gypsum from the 

shallower Permian (299-251 million years ago) Kaibab or 

Toroweap Formations caused overlying strata to collapse 

inward. Some of the collapse structures resulting from 

dissolution of Redwall Limestone contain potential 

economic high-grade ore deposits of copper and 

uranium minerals (Billingsley et al. 2004). 

One large collapse structure has been mapped in the 

upper reaches of Cove Canyon, northeast of Pipe Spring 

National Monument and about 5 km (3 mi) east of 

Kaibab, Arizona. This potentially deep feature is about 

200 m (660 ft) in diameter. No collapse structures that 

might be identified on NPS or Tribal lands would be 

available for mineral exploration (Dave Sharrow, 

hydrologist, National Park Service, written 

communication, October 30, 2008).

Figure 19. Photograph showing the main segment of the Sevier Fault (black), the west branch of the fault (yellow, dashed where the fault 

trace trends behind the outcrop of Jurassic sandstone beds), and the syncline that parallels the west branch of the Sevier Fault (orange). 

Thin black arrows indicate the dip direction of the sandstone beds towards the center of the syncline. View is to the north. Pipe Spring

National Monument lies south of the photograph. Photograph courtesy of Dave Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park Service.
24 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 20. Geologic contact (white line) between the Navajo Sandstone (Jn) and the Kayenta Formation (Jk), fractures (white arrows) in the 

Kayenta Formation, and a bedding plane (yellow arrows) in the Kayenta Formation, Pipe Spring National Monument, northern Arizona. 

Blocks of Navajo and Kayenta sandstone that have broken along fractures lie at the base of the cliff. U.S. Geological Survey photograph 

courtesy of Margot Truini.

Jk

Jn
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 25

Map Unit Properties

This section identifies characteristics of map units that appear on the Geologic Resources 

Inventory digital geologic map of Pipe Spring National Monument. The accompanying

table is highly generalized and for background purposes only. Ground-disturbing 

activities should not be permitted or denied on the basis of information in this table. 

Geologic maps facilitate an understanding of Earth, its 

processes, and the geologic history responsible for its 

formation. Hence, the geologic map for Pipe Spring 

National Monument informed the “Geologic History,” 

“Geologic Features and Processes,” and “Geologic 

Issues” sections of this report. Geologic maps are 

essentially two-dimensional representations of complex 

three-dimensional relationships. The various colors on 

geologic maps illustrate the distribution of rocks and 

unconsolidated deposits. Bold lines that cross or separate 

the color patterns mark structures such as faults and 

folds. Point symbols indicate features such as dipping 

strata, sample localities, mines, wells, and cave openings. 

Incorporation of geologic data into a Geographic 

Information System (GIS) increases the usefulness of 

geologic maps by revealing the spatial relationships to 

other natural resources and anthropogenic features. 

Geologic maps are indicators of water resources because 

they show which rock units are potential aquifers and are 

useful for finding seeps and springs. Geologic maps do 

not show soil types and are not soil maps, but they do 

show parent material, a key factor in soil formation. 

Furthermore, resource managers have used geologic 

maps to make connections between geology and biology; 

for instance, geologic maps have served as tools for 

locating sensitive, threatened, and endangered plant 

species, which may prefer a particular rock unit. 

Although geologic maps do not show where earthquakes 

will occur, the presence of a fault indicates past 

movement and possible future seismic activity. Geologic 

maps do not show where the next landslide, rockfall, or 

volcanic eruption will occur, but mapped deposits show 

areas that have been susceptible to such geologic 

hazards. Geologic maps do not show archaeological or 

cultural resources, but past peoples may have inhabited 

or been influenced by various geomorphic features that 

are shown on geologic maps. For example, alluvial 

terraces may preserve artifacts, and formerly inhabited 

alcoves may occur at the contact between two rock units.

The geologic units listed in the following table 

correspond to the accompanying digital geologic data. 

Map units are listed in the table from youngest to oldest. 

Please refer to the geologic time scale (fig. 21) for the age 

associated with each time period. This table highlights 

characteristics of map units such as susceptibility to 

hazards; the occurrence of fossils, cultural resources, 

mineral resources, and caves; and the suitability as 

habitat or for recreational use. 

The GRI digital geologic maps reproduce essential 

elements of the source maps including the unit 

descriptions, legend, map notes, graphics, and report. 

The following reference is source data for the GRI digital 

geologic map for Pipe Spring National Monument:

Billingsley, G.H., S.S. Priest, and T.J. Felger. 2004. 

Geologic map of Pipe Spring National Monument and 

the western Kaibab-Paiute Indian Reservation, Mohave 

County, Arizona. Scale 1:31,680. Geologic 

Investigations Series Map I-2863. Reston, VA: U.S. 

Geological Survey.

The GRI team implements a geology-GIS data model 

that standardizes map deliverables. This data model 

dictates GIS data structure including data layer 

architecture, feature attribution, and data relationships 

within ESRI ArcGIS software, increasing the overall 

quality and utility of the data. GRI digital geologic map 

products include data in ESRI shapefile and coverage 

GIS formats, Federal Geographic Data Committee 

(FGDC)-compliant metadata, a help file that contains all 

of the ancillary map information and graphics, and an 

ESRI ArcMap map document file that easily displays the 

map with appropriate symbology. GRI digital geologic 

data are included on the attached CD and are available 

through the NPS Data Store 

(http://science.nature.nps.gov/nrdata/).

 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 31

Geologic History

This section describes the rocks and unconsolidated deposits that appear on the digital 

geologic map of Pipe Spring National Monument, the environment in which those units

were deposited, and the timing of geologic events that created the present landscape.

This section summarizes the tectonic and depositional 

history recorded in the strata within and surrounding 

Pipe Spring National Monument. The tectonic history 

includes two major orogenic (mountain-building) events:

one that occurred in the Mesozoic, and one that began in 

the Mesozoic and ended in the Tertiary. Although the 

rocks in the Pipe Spring area record only a brief portion 

of Earth’s geologic past, from the Permian Period 

(approximately 299 million years ago) to the present

(fig. 21), they represent a wide variety of depositional 

environments and dynamic processes that shaped 

today’s landscape.

Permian Period (299–251 million years ago)

About 270 million years ago, Pipe Spring National 

Monument lay just north of the Permian equator on the 

western margin of Pangaea, the supercontinent that 

formed as the globe’s landmasses sutured together

(fig. 22) (Biek et al. 2000; Morris et al. 2000). A dry, high 

atmospheric pressure climatic belt prevailed in this 

western part of Pangaea and resulted in restricted marine 

conditions over much of the cratonic shelf seaway 

(Peterson 1980). Warm, shallow seas and sabkhas (broad, 

very flat surfaces near sea level) covered the area. Farther 

to the west, a complex island arc assemblage formed 

above a subduction zone as lithospheric plates collided

and dense oceanic crust descended beneath the less 

dense continental shelf and slope (Silberling and Roberts 

1962). To the east, highlands in Colorado remain as 

remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains that 

originated with the suturing of South America to North 

America in the Pennsylvanian.

During the Early Permian, the sea advanced 

(transgressed) and retreated (regressed) across northern 

Arizona and southwestern Utah, leaving open marine, 

restricted marine, sabkha, and eolian (wind) sediments 

that became the Toroweap Formation (Rawson et al. 

1980). Gypsum in the Woods Ranch Member and 

Seligman Member reflects hot, dry conditions promoting 

evaporation at the time of deposition, while the 

fossiliferous limestone in the Brady Canyon Member 

records a transgression of the sea into the region. In

Grand Canyon National Park, the Toroweap limestones 

contain fossils of brachiopods, crinoids, corals, and 

bryozoans. These invertebrates lived in well-oxygenated 

marine environments. However, the fetid odor present 

on fresh surfaces of Brady Canyon Member limestones

in Kanab Canyon, south of the monument, suggests that

a restricted, oxygen-depleted marine environment

existed in this area at one time. The fetid odor results 

from accumulated organic material. In an oxygen-rich 

environment, benthic organisms typically assimilate any 

organic matter that settles through the water column.

The Kaibab Limestone records the last in a long series of 

Paleozoic seas that transgressed over the region. 

Fossiliferous, sandy limestone and gypsum indicate 

deposition under shallow, near-shore, warm and arid 

climatic conditions. The sea moved back and forth across 

northern Arizona and western Utah, but by the Middle 

Permian, the sea had withdrawn and the Kaibab 

Limestone was subaerially exposed to erosion. 

Dissolution of the Kaibab created karst topography, a 

landscape dotted with sinkholes, caves, and dissolution 

tunnels (Morris et al. 2000). 

The close of the Permian brought the third, and most 

severe, major mass extinction of geologic time. Although 

not as famous as the extinction event at the end of the 

Mesozoic, the Permian extinction was much more 

extensive. An estimated 96% of all species were 

eliminated at the end of the Permian (Raup 1991). 

According to one hypothesis, a comet, about 6-13 km

(4-8 mi) in diameter, collided with Earth (Becker et al. 

2001). Such an impact may have triggered vast volcanic 

eruptions that spread lava over an area two-thirds the 

size of the United States.

Powerful updrafts would have carried dust and grit 

swirling into the upper atmosphere. The particulate 

matter would have reflected and scattered sunlight, 

resulting in years of global cooling, with freezing 

temperatures even during summertime. The sulfuric 

emissions from the volcanism would have mixed with 

atmospheric water to produce downpours of corrosive 

acid rain. Thousands of species of insects, reptiles, and 

amphibians died out on land, while in the oceans, coral 

formations vanished, as did snails, urchins, sea lilies, 

some fish, and the once-prolific trilobites. 

Triassic Period (251–199.6 million years ago)

During the Triassic, Pangaea reached its greatest size. All 

the continents had come together to form a single 

landmass that was located symmetrically about the 

equator (Dubiel 1994). To the west, explosive volcanoes 

arose from the sea and formed a north-south trending 

arc of islands along the border of what is now California 

and Nevada (fig. 23) (Christiansen et al. 1994; Dubiel 

1994; Lawton 1994). 

The Lower Triassic Moenkopi Formation is a mix of 

fluvial, mudflat, sabkha, and shallow marine 

environments that developed from eastern Utah to 

eastern Nevada (fig. 23) (Stewart et al. 1972a; 

Christiansen et al. 1994; Doelling 2000; Huntoon et al. 

2000). The basal member of the Moenkopi fills broad,

east-flowing channels that incised into the Kaibab 

Limestone prior to the Triassic (Biek et al. 2000). Some of 
32 NPS Geologic Resources Division

these channels are up to several tens of feet deep and 

may reach 61 m (200 ft) deep in the Zion National Park 

area. A regolith (thin, poorly-developed soil) formed 

over the topographic high areas between the channels 

(Biek et al. 2000).

Fossilized plants and animals in the Moenkopi are 

characteristic of a warm tropical setting that may have 

experienced monsoonal, wet-dry conditions (Stewart et 

al. 1972a; Dubiel 1994; Huntoon et al. 2000; Morris et al. 

2000). Limestones and fossils in the Timpoweap, Virgin 

Limestone, and Shnabkaib Members of the Moenkopi 

Formation document transgressive episodes that spread 

marine environments into the region. 

Reddish siltstone and sandstone record regressive events 

when the sea retreated to the west. Ripple marks, 

mudcracks, and thinly laminated bedding indicate that 

these interlayered red shale and siltstone units were 

deposited in tidal-flat and coastal-plain environments 

(Stewart et al. 1972a; Hamilton 1992; Biek et al. 2000). 

The Early Triassic is separated from the Late Triassic by 

a regional unconformity. The unconformity marks a 

change from the shallow marine environments of the 

Lower Triassic Moenkopi Formation to mostly 

continental sedimentation in the Upper Triassic Chinle 

Formation. By this time, the Pipe Spring region was part 

of a large interior basin. Northerly flowing rivers 

deposited coarse sediments (Shinarump Conglomerate 

Member) in paleovalleys that eroded into the underlying 

Moenkopi Formation (Dubiel 1994; Biek et al. 2000). 

Meandering, high-sinuosity stream, flood plain, and lake 

sediments (Petrified Forest Member) overlay the coarse 

stream deposits. 

Fossils of aquatic, crocodile-like phytosaurs, lungfish, 

snails, and lacustrine (lake) clams along with plant fossils 

of conifer trees, cycads, ferns, and horsetails indicate a 

lush, moist, coastal lowland environment in the Upper 

Triassic in what are now northern Arizona and 

southwestern Utah (Stewart et al. 1972b; Dubiel 1994; 

Biek et al. 2000). Periodically, volcanic ash drifted into 

the area from the west. Once deposited, it altered to the 

mineral bentonite. The crystalline structure of bentonite 

is unusual in that water can be absorbed into the 

structure, causing the mineral to expand when wet, and,

upon drying, to shrink. This shrink and swell capacity 

causes bentonitic soil in the Moenkopi and Chinle 

Formations to become unstable, discourages plant 

growth, leads to erosion and mass wasting (a general 

term for any downslope transport of dislodged soil and 

rock material), and presents numerous difficulties when 

building roads and other structures.

Jurassic Period (199.6–145.5 million years ago)

During the Jurassic, the western active margin of North 

America was similar to today’s western margin of South 

America, where eastward subduction of the seafloor 

gives rise to volcanism in the Andes Mountains. 

Volcanoes formed a north-south chain of mountains off 

the coast of western Pangaea, in what is now central 

Nevada. To the south, the landmass that would become 

South America was splitting away from the Texas coast,

just as Africa and Great Britain were rifting away from 

the present North American East Coast and opening up 

the Atlantic Ocean. The Ouachita Mountains, formed 

when South America collided with North America, 

remained a significant highland, and rivers from the 

highland flowed to the northwest, towards the Colorado 

Plateau. The Ancestral Rocky Mountains also remained 

topographically high during the Jurassic. 

There is a gap of about ten million years between the 

Chinle Formation and the Early Jurassic Moenave 

Formation (the Moenave Formation is exposed north of 

the monument). The Moenave and Kayenta Formations 

were deposited in a variety of river, lake, and flood-plain 

environments (Biek et al. 2000). Studies of Jurassic 

current directions show that the Kayenta rivers flowed in 

a general westward to southwestward direction (Morris

et al. 2000). 

Mountains along the western active margin continued to 

rise in the Early Jurassic, as North America collided with 

the oceanic plate to the west. Eventually, a rain shadow 

was created, much like today’s rain shadow in which the 

Sierra Nevada prevents moist Pacific air from reaching 

Nevada. Northern Arizona entered the arid, low-latitude

(~11° north) climatic belt, and vast dune fields similar to 

the modern Sahara eventually overwhelmed the region 

(fig. 24). 

These dune fields became the Navajo Sandstone, 

renowned for its uniformity and great thickness, which 

locally exceeds 610 m (2,000 ft). The Navajo was clearly 

the largest sand sea by volume ever known on Earth, and 

possibly the largest by area, as well. The characteristic 

high-angle cross-beds in the Navajo reach 18 m (60 ft) 

high and consist of moderately well-cemented, wellrounded, fine- to medium-grained quartz grains. 

Outcrops weather to bold, rounded cliffs. (Blakey 1994; 

Peterson 1994; Biek et al. 2000; Morris et al. 2000).

Cretaceous Period (145.5–65.5 million years ago)

The geologic strata above the Navajo Sandstone have 

been eroded from the Pipe Spring National Monument 

area. However, younger Jurassic and Cretaceous strata 

throughout the Colorado Plateau record multiple 

episodes of transgressions and regressions. Continued 

subduction along the west coast of North America 

initiated the Sevier Orogeny (about 75-105 mya), which 

thrust Paleozoic strata from west to east over younger, 

Mesozoic rocks. The Sevier Fault (fig. 4) separates the 

displaced, hanging wall strata from the geologic units in 

the footwall (fig. 6). 

The Sevier Orogeny resulted in north-south trending 

mountain ranges that extended along the entire western 

margin of North America. The Pipe Spring National 

Monument area was part of this regional uplift. As the 

mountains rose, the Western Interior Province of North 

America began to subside. The Gulf of Mexico 

continued to rift open and marine water began to spill 

northward into the expanding Western Interior basin. At 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 33

the same time, marine water began to advance onto the 

continent from the Arctic region.

The seas advanced and retreated many times during the 

Cretaceous until the most extensive interior seaway ever 

recorded drowned much of western North America

(fig. 25). The Western Interior Seaway filled an elongate 

basin that extended from today’s Gulf of Mexico to the 

Arctic Ocean, a distance of about 4,800 km (3,000 mi). 

The onset of the Laramide Orogeny (beginning about

70 million years ago) was marked by a pronounced 

eastward shift in deformation throughout northern 

Arizona, Utah, and into Colorado. Unlike Sevier thrust

faults, Laramide reverse faults cut deeply into Earth’s 

crust, displacing Precambrian plutonic and metamorphic 

rocks to the surface. In contrast to Sevier thrust faults 

that dip at a low angle, generally 10-15°, relative to 

Earth’s surface, Laramide reverse faults have steeply 

dipping fault planes at the surface that curve and die out

in Precambrian basement crystalline rock at depths of up 

to 9 km (9,000 m) (5.7 mi or 30,000 ft) below sea level 

(Gries 1983; Erslev 1993). 

During the Laramide Orogeny, tectonic forces folded 

and faulted Precambrian to Cretaceous age rocks into 

the Rocky Mountains and adjoining basins, but these 

compressive forces had seemingly little effect on the 

Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau was primarily 

warped into broadly undulating convex (anticlinal) and 

concave (synclinal) folds and monoclines with very little 

large-scale faulting (Dickinson and Snyder 1978; Chapin 

and Cather 1983; Hamilton 1988; Erslev 1993). The 

Moccasin Monocline presents one example of a 

Laramide fold.

Paleogene and Neogene Periods (65.5–2.6 million

years ago)

Explosive volcanism dominated the region to the west 

during Oligocene and early Miocene time (fig. 21) and 

probably inundated the Pipe Spring area with hundreds 

of feet of welded tuff that has since eroded away (Biek et 

al. 2000). Some of these enormous Mount St. Helenstype volcanoes may have produced eruptions that 

exceeded the largest Yellowstone eruptions (Dave 

Sharrow, hydrologist, National Park Service, written 

communication, 2005). About 21 million years ago, a type 

of mushroom-shaped igneous intrusion called a 

‘laccolith’ formed between what are now St. George and 

Cedar City, Utah. Debris -flows carried boulders from 

this intrusion onto the Upper Kolob Plateau.

About 20 million years ago, during the Miocene Epoch, 

the tectonic regime along the southwestern margin of the 

United States changed when the North American Plate 

intersected the Pacific Plate (fig. 26). Transform faulting 

between the North American and Pacific Plates, and 

oblique convergence of the North American Plate with 

the Cocos Plate, began to pull apart, or extend, the crust 

beneath the southwestern United States—a process that 

eventually formed today’s Basin-and-Range Province. 

While most of the Colorado Plateau was not greatly 

affected by Basin-and-Range normal faulting, extension 

broke the western margin of the Colorado Plateau into a 

series of large blocks bounded by the north-south 

trending Hurricane, Sevier, Paunsaugunt, and other 

faults (fig. 4) (Gregory 1950; Biek et al. 2000). These large 

fault systems parallel the western margin of the Colorado 

Plateau. Pipe Spring National Monument, Zion National 

Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Cedar Breaks 

National Monument lie in a transition zone between the 

Colorado Plateau and the Basin-and-Range Province. 

Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to present)

Exposures of Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years 

ago) alluvial fan deposits form stony surfaces along the 

base of the Vermilion Cliffs, northeast of Pipe Spring 

National Monument (Billingsley et al. 2004). Southeast of 

Pipe Spring National Monument, alluvial terrace-gravel 

deposits are scattered along the lower reaches of Bulrush 

Wash and Bitter Seeps Wash. These Pleistocene deposits 

range from 3 m (10 ft) to 15 m (50 ft) thick.

Pollen collected from Pleistocene deposits in the 

Southwest does not indicate any clear glacial/interglacial 

vegetation or climates prior to approximately 115,000 

years ago, the onset of the Wisconsinan glacial stage

(fig. 27) (Smiley et al. 1991). Vegetation patterns indicate 

a mild climate, similar to today’s interglacial climate. 

During the Wisconsin glacial stage, about 115,000 to 

10,000 years ago, climates were more varied and 

produced intense cyclonic storms and cold winters

(Smiley et al. 1991). During the late Wisconsin (28,000–

10,000 years ago), cool, dry summers on the Colorado 

Plateau contrasted with winters that had increased 

precipitation relative to today’s climate (Patton et al. 

1991).

Volcanic activity continued from the Tertiary into the 

Quaternary along the western margin of the Colorado 

Plateau (Luedke and Smith 1991; Patton et al. 1991). In 

the St. George, Utah, area, near Zion National Park, 

Quaternary eruptions may be less than 1,000 years old. 

During Pliocene through late Pleistocene, basaltic lava 

flows and pyroclastics erupted from vents in the 

Uinkaret volcanic field, north of the Colorado River in 

northwestern Arizona (Patton et al. 1991). The basaltic 

flows seem to be controlled by the north-trending 

extensional fault system. 

Over the last several million years, minimum uplift rates 

relative to the adjacent Basin-and-Range Province have 

been about 26 meters per million years (m/my) (85 ft/my) 

in the Pipe Spring region. Large-scale mass wasting has 

accompanied the uplift of the Colorado Plateau. 

Landslides, like those at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs,

are common along the escarpments that mark the various 

plateaus (Patton et al. 1991; Billingsley et al. 2004). 

Holocene deposits in Pipe Spring National Monument 

are locally-derived from bedrock outcrops. These lightred, gray, and brown alluvial (stream) and eolian (wind) 

surficial sediments form deposits generally 1–18 m

(3–60 ft) thick (Billingsley et al. 2004). The alluvial fans 

and alluvial terrace deposits derive from Triassic and 

Jurassic strata of the Vermilion Cliffs. Local fluvial 
34 NPS Geologic Resources Division

deposits below the Vermilion Cliffs, and outcrops of the 

Navajo Sandstone on Moccasin and Moquith 

Mountains, provide the fine sediment for the eolian 

deposits. During wet climatic conditions, grassy 

vegetation stabilizes the eolian deposits, but during 

prolonged dry conditions, the eolian deposits again 

become active.

Figure 21. Geologic time scale. Geologic time scale. Included are major life history and tectonic events occurring on the North American 

continent. Red lines indicate major unconformities between eras. Isotopic ages shown are in millions of years (Ma). Compass directions in 

parentheses indicate the regional location of individual geologic events. Adapted from the U.S. Geological Survey, 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3015/ with additional information from the International Commission on Stratigraphy. 

http://www.stratigraphy.org/view.php?id=25.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 35

Figure 22. Early Permian paleogeographic map of the western United States during deposition of the Kaibab Formation. Approximately 270 

million years ago, Arizona (yellow star) was located just north of the equator, as the global landmasses came together to form the 

supercontinent, Pangaea. Actively subsiding basins during this time include: Arbuckle (Anadarko) Basin (ArB), Bird Spring Basin (BSB), 

Delaware Basin (DeB), Denver Basin (DnB), Ely Basin (ElB), Grand Canyon Embayment (GCE), Midland Basin (MiB), Oquirrah Basin (OqB), 

Orogrande Basin (OrB), Pedregosa Basin (PeB), and Wood River Basin (WRB). Many of these basins became prolific oil and gas basins. 

Subduction zones (black lines) along the western margin of Pangaea would eventually accrete the following terranes to North America: PeriGondwanan terrane (PGT) to the south, Quesnell terrane (QT) in present-day Idaho, and Stikine terrane (St) in present-day western 

Washington. Yellow, orange, brown and gray colors are land areas, with dark brown representing higher elevations. Dark brown areas in 

Colorado are remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains that formed when South America sutured onto North America in the 

Pennsylvanian Period. Blue colors represent water. Light blue areas represent shallower, near-shore environments. Map modified from Dr. 

Ron Blakey’s (Northern Arizona University) paleogeographic map: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/garm270.jpg, accessed August 2009.
36 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 23. Early Triassic paleogeographic map of the western United States during deposition of the Moenkopi Formation. Approximately 

240 million years ago, a broad fluvial and shallow marine depositional system covered much of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. To the west, 

plate subduction and collision, marked by the solid and dashed black lines, resulted in the Sonoma Orogeny and the eventual accretion of 

volcanic arcs (VA) to the North American continent. Highlands in Colorado (dark brown) are remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. 

Yellow star represents the approximate location of today’s Pipe Spring National Monument. Map modified from Dr. Ron Blakey’s (Northern 

Arizona University) paleogeographic map: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/garm240.jpg, accessed August 2009.

North American Plate

Oceanic Plate

VA
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 37

Figure 24. Early Jurassic paleogeographic map of North America during deposition of the Navajo Sandstone. Approximately 180 million 

years ago, the extensive Navajo sand sea (erg) spread across the western United States.) A few remnants of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains 

still remain topographically high in Colorado and northern New Mexico. Volcanic arcs (red dots) form above subduction zones (black lines). 

The superterrane Greater Wrangellia (W) and the Guerrero terrane (G) lie to the west. The yellow star represents the approximate location of 

today’s Pipe Spring National Monument. Map modified from Dr. Ron Blakey’s (Northern Arizona University), paleogeographic map: 

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/namJ180.jpg, accessed August 2009.

NORTH AMERICAN 

PLATE

Oceanic Plate

Navajo Erg

W

G
38 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Figure 25. Cretaceous paleogeographic map of North America. Approximately 85 million years ago, the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) 

spread from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. Volcanoes (red dots) erupted along the western margin of North America above an 

active subduction zone (black line). Lithospheric plate collision and subduction of the Kula and Farallon oceanic plates beneath North 

America resulted in the Sevier Orogeny and mountains rising in the west. The dashed red line represents the approximate border between 

the Farallon plate and the Kula plate. Northwestern Arizona (yellow star) is located along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway. 

Map modified from Dr. Ron Blakey’s (Northern Arizona University) paleogeographic map, http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namK85.jpg, 

accessed August 2009.

WIS
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 39

Figure 26. Plate tectonic evolution along the western margin of North America. Approximately 25 million years ago, the North American Plate 

intersected the Pacific Plate, initiating a transform (strike-slip) fault and the San Andreas fault zone (thick yellow line; relative plate motion 

indicated by yellow arrows). Oblique convergence and transform faulting began to pull apart, or extend, the crust under the southwestern 

United States and initiated Basin-and-Range style normal faulting. The trailing remnants of the subducting Farallon Plate are known as the 

Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates. Modified by Jason Kenworthy (NPS Geologic Resources Division) from Dr. Ron Blakey’s (Northern Arizona 

University) paleogeographic maps: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/nam.html, accessed January 2010.
40 NPS Geologic Resources Division

+ure 27. Pleistocene paleogeographic map at the onset of the Wisconsinan stage of the Pleistocene Ice Age. Approximately 126,000 years 

ago, lakes covered large areas of Utah and Nevada. The yellow star represents the approximate location of today’s Pipe Spring National 

Monument. Brown is land; blue is water; white is ice and snow. Map modified from Dr. Ron Blakey’s (Northern Arizona University)

paleogeographic map: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/namQ.jpg, accessed October 24, 2007.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 41

Glossary

This glossary contains brief definitions of technical geologic terms used in this report. Not all 

geologic terms used are referenced. For more detailed definitions or to find terms not listed

here please visit: http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/misc/glossarya.html.

absolute age. The geologic age of a fossil, rock, feature, 

or event in years; commonly refers to radiometrically 

determined ages.

active margin. A continental margin where significant 

volcanic and earthquake activity occurs; commonly a 

convergent plate margin.

adit. A horizontal passage from the surface into a mine.

alluvium. Stream-deposited sediment.

aquifer. A rock or sedimentary unit that is sufficiently 

porous that it has a capacity to hold water, sufficiently 

permeable to allow water to move through it, and 

currently saturated to some level.

arc. See “island arc.”

ash (volcanic). Fine pyroclastic material ejected from a 

volcano (also see “tuff”).

basement. The undifferentiated rocks, commonly 

igneous and metamorphic, that underlie the rocks 

exposed at the surface.

bed. The smallest sedimentary strata unit, commonly 

ranging in thickness from one centimeter to a meter or 

two and distinguishable from beds above and below.

bedding. Depositional layering or stratification of 

sediments.

block (fault). A crustal unit bounded by faults, either 

completely or in part.

calcareous. Describes rock or sediment that contains 

calcium carbonate.

chert. A extremely hard sedimentary rock with 

conchoidal (smooth curved surface) fracturing. It 

consists chiefly of interlocking crystals of quartz (syn: 

flint).

clast. An individual grain or rock fragment in a 

sedimentary rock, produced by the physical 

disintegration of a larger rock mass.

clastic. Describes rock or sediment made of fragments of 

pre-existing rocks.

clay. Can be used to refer to clay minerals or as a 

sedimentary fragment size classification (less than 

1/256 mm [0.00015 in]).

conglomerate. A coarse-grained, generally unsorted, 

sedimentary rock consisting of cemented rounded 

clasts larger than 2 mm (0.08 in).

continental crust. The crustal rocks rich in silica and 

alumina that underlie the continents; ranging in 

thickness from 35 km (22 mi) to 60 km (37 mi) under 

mountain ranges.

continental rise. The gently sloping region from the foot 

of the continental slope to the abyssal plain; it 

generally has smooth topography but may have 

submarine canyons.

continental shelf. The shallowly submerged part of a 

continental margin extending from the shoreline to the 

continental slope with water depths less than 200 m 

(660 ft).

continental shield. A continental block of Earth’s crust 

that has remained relatively stable over a long period 

of time and has undergone only gentle warping 

compared to the intense deformation of bordering 

crust.

continental slope. The relatively steep slope from the 

outer edge of the continental shelf down to the more 

gently sloping ocean depths of the continental rise or 

abyssal plain.

convergent margin. An active boundary where two 

tectonic plates are colliding. See “active margin.”

craton. The relatively old and geologically stable interior 

of a continent (also see “continental shield”).

cross-bedding. Uniform to highly varied sets of inclined 

sedimentary beds deposited by wind or water that 

indicate distinctive flow conditions (e.g., direction and 

depth).

cross section. A graphical interpretation of geology, 

structure, and/or stratigraphy in the third (vertical) 

dimension based on mapped and measured geological 

extents and attitudes depicted in a vertically oriented 

plane.

crust. Earth’s outermost compositional shell, 10 to 40 km 

(6 to 25 mi) thick, consisting predominantly of 

relatively low-density silicate minerals (also see 

“oceanic crust” and “continental crust”).

cryptocrystalline. Describes the texture of a rock 

consisting of crystals that are too small to be 

recognized and separately distinguished even under 

the ordinary microscope.

cryptogamic soil. The brown crust on sandy, desert soils 

that is composed of an association of algae, lichen, 

mosses, and fungi and which helps stabilize the soil.

crystalline. Describes a regular, orderly, repeating 

geometric structural arrangement of atoms.

deformation. A general term for the process of faulting, 

folding, and shearing of rocks as a result of various 

Earth forces such as compression (pushing together) 

and extension (pulling apart).

desert pavement. A natural residual concentration of 

wind-polished, closely packed pebbles, boulders, and 

other rock fragments, mantling a desert surface where 

wind action and sheetwash have removed all smaller 

particles, and usually protecting the underlying finergrained material from further erosion. Also called 

‘desert armor.’

dip. The angle between a structural surface and a 

horizontal reference plane measured normal to their 

line of intersection.

dip-slip fault. A fault with measurable offset where the 

relative movement is parallel to the dip of the fault.

dolomite. A carbonate sedimentary rock of which more 

than 50% by weight or by areal percentages under the 

microscope consists of the mineral dolomite (calciummagnesium carbonate: CaMg(CO3)2).
42 NPS Geologic Resources Division

dolomitic. Describes a dolomite-bearing rock, or a rock

containing dolomite.

dune. A low mound or ridge of sediment, usually sand, 

deposited by wind.

electrical resistivity survey. A measure of the difficulty 

with which electric current flows through 

unconsolidated sediment and rock.

electromagnetic survey (method). An electrical 

exploration method based on the measurement of 

alternating magnetic fields associated with currents 

artificially or naturally maintained in the subsurface.

eolian. Formed, eroded, or deposited by or related to the 

action of the wind.

evaporite. A sedimentary rock composed primarily of 

minerals produced from a saline solution as a result of 

extensive or total evaporation of the solvent (usually 

water).

extension. In structural geology, a strain term signifying 

increase in length. Opposite of compression (see “pullapart basin”).

fault. A break in rock along which relative movement 

occurs between the two sides.

footwall. The mass of rock beneath a fault surface (see 

“hanging wall”).

formation. Fundamental rock-stratigraphic unit that is 

mappable, lithologically distinct from adjoining strata, 

and has definable upper and lower contacts.

fracture. Irregular breakage of a mineral; also any break 

in a rock (e.g., crack, joint, or fault).

graben. A down-dropped structural block bounded by 

steeply dipping, normal faults (see “horst”).

gypsiferous. Gypsum-bearing.

gypsum. The most common sulfate mineral (calcium 

sulfate). Frequently associated with halite and 

anhydrite in evaporites.

hanging wall. The mass of rock above a fault surface (see 

“footwall”).

horst. Areas of relative “up” between grabens,

representing the geologic surface left behind as 

grabens drop. The best example is the Basin-andRange province of Nevada. The basins are grabens 

and the ranges are weathered horsts. Grabens become 

a locus for sedimentary deposition. 

igneous. Refers to a rock or mineral that originated from 

molten material; one of the three main classes or 

rocks—igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.

intrusion. A body of igneous rock that invades (pushes 

into) older rock. The invading rock may be a plastic 

solid or magma.

island arc. A line or arc of volcanic islands formed over 

and parallel to a subduction zone.

joint. A semi-planar break in rock without relative 

movement of rocks on either side of the fracture 

surface.

karst topography. Topography characterized by 

abundant sinkholes and caverns formed by the 

dissolution of calcareous rocks.

laccolith. A mushroom- or arcuate-shaped pluton that 

has intruded sedimentary strata and domed up the 

overlying sedimentary layers. Common on the 

Colorado Plateau.

lacustrine. Pertaining to, produced by, or inhabiting a 

lake or lakes.

lag gravel. A residual accumulation of coarse material 

remaining on a surface after the finer material has been 

blown away by winds.

landslide. Any process or landform resulting from rapid, 

gravity-driven mass movement.

lava. Still-molten or solidified magma that has been 

extruded onto Earth’s surface though a volcano or 

fissure.

lens. A sedimentary deposit characterized by converging 

surfaces, thick in the middle and thinning out toward 

the edges, resembling a convex lens.

lithification. The conversion of sediment into solid rock.

lithology. The physical description or classification of a 

rock or rock unit based on characters such as its color, 

mineral composition, and grain size.

lithosphere. The relatively rigid outmost shell of Earth’s 

structure, 50 to 100 km (31 to 62 miles) thick, that 

encompasses the crust and uppermost mantle.

magma. Molten rock beneath Earth’s surface capable of 

intrusion and extrusion.

mantle. The zone of Earth’s interior between the crust 

and core.

marker bed. A key layer used to trace a geologic unit 

from one geographic location to another.

mass wasting. A general term for any downslope 

transport of dislodged soil and rock material, such as a

landslide or slump.

matrix. The fine grained material between coarse (larger) 

grains in igneous rocks or poorly sorted clastic 

sediments or rocks. Also refers to rock or sediment in 

which a fossil is embedded.

member. A lithostratigraphic unit with definable 

contacts; a member subdivides a formation.

mesa. A broad, flat-topped erosional hill or mountain 

bounded by steeply sloping sides or cliffs.

meta–. A prefix used with the name of a sedimentary or 

igneous rock, indicating that the rock has been 

metamorphosed.

metamorphic. Describes the process of metamorphism 

or its results. One of the three main classes of rocks—

igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.

metamorphism. Literally, a change in form. 

Metamorphism occurs in rocks through mineral 

alteration, genesis, and/or recrystallization from 

increased heat and pressure.

monocline. A one-limbed flexure in strata that is usually 

flat lying except in the flexure itself.

mudcracks. Cracks formed in clay, silt, or mud by 

shrinkage during subaerial dehydration.

normal fault. A dip-slip fault in which the hanging wall 

moves down relative to the footwall.

oceanic crust. Earth’s crust formed at spreading ridges 

that underlies the ocean basins. Oceanic crust is 6 to 7 

km (3 to 4 miles) thick and generally of basaltic 

composition.

orogeny. A mountain-building event.

outcrop. Any part of a rock mass or formation that is 

exposed or “crops out” at Earth’s surface.

paleogeography. The study, description, and 

reconstruction of the physical landscape from past 

geologic periods.

Pangaea. A theoretical, single supercontinent that 

existed during the Permian and Triassic periods.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 43

permeability. A measure of the relative ease with which 

fluids move through the pore spaces of rocks or 

sediments.

plateau. A broad, flat-topped topographic high (both 

terrestrial and marine) of great extent and elevation 

above the surrounding plains, canyons, or valleys.

plate tectonics. The concept that the lithosphere is 

broken up into a series of rigid plates that move over 

Earth’s surface above a more fluid asthenosphere.

pluton (plutonic). A body of intrusive igneous rock that

crystallized at some depth beneath Earth’s surface.

point bar. Ridges of sand and gravel developed on the 

inside of a stream’s growing meander bend where the 

river’s energy decreases and sediment is deposited.

porosity. The proportion of void space (e.g., pores or 

voids) in a volume of rock or sediment deposit.

pull-apart basin. A topographic depression created by an 

extensional bend or extensional overstep along a 

strike-slip fault.

pyroclastic. Describes clastic rock material formed by 

volcanic explosion or aerial expulsion from a volcanic 

vent; also pertaining to rock texture of explosive 

origin. In the plural, the term is used as a noun.

quartzite. Metamorphosed quartz sandstone.

radiometric age. An age expressed in years and 

calculated from the quantitative determination of 

radioactive elements and their decay products.

recharge. Infiltration processes that replenish 

groundwater.

reflection survey. Record of the time it takes for seismic 

waves generated from a controlled source to return to 

the surface. Used to interpret the depth to the 

subsurface feature that generated the reflections.

refraction survey. A type of seismic survey that measures 

the travel times of seismic waves that have travelled 

nearly parallel through a medium of high-velocity. 

Used to determine general soil types, the depth to 

strata boundaries, or depth to bedrock.

regression. A long-term seaward retreat of the shoreline 

or relative fall of sea level.

resistivity. See “electrical resistivity survey.”

reverse fault. A contractional high-angle (greater than 

45°

) dip-slip fault in which the hanging wall moves up 

relative to the footwall (also see “thrust fault”).

ripple marks. The undulating, subparallel, usually smallscale ridge pattern formed on sediment by the flow of 

wind or water.

rip-up clast. A mud clast (usually of flat shape) that has 

been “ripped up” by currents from a semiconsolidated 

mud deposit, transported, and deposited elsewhere.

sabkha. A coastal environment in an arid climate where 

evaporation rates are high.

sand. A clastic particle smaller than a granule and larger 

than a silt grain, having a diameter in the range of 1/16 

mm (0.0025 in) to 2 mm (0.08 in).

sand sheet. A large irregularly shaped plain of eolian 

sand, lacking the discernible slip faces that are 

common on dunes.

sandstone. Clastic sedimentary rock of predominantly

sand-sized grains.

scarp. A steep cliff or topographic step resulting from 

displacement on a fault, or by mass movement, or 

erosion. Also called an “escarpment.”

sediment. An eroded and deposited, unconsolidated 

accumulation of rock and mineral fragments.

sedimentary rock. A consolidated and lithified rock 

consisting of clastic and/or chemical sediment(s). One 

of the three main classes of rocks—igneous, 

metamorphic, and sedimentary.

seismic reflection. See “reflection survey.”

seismic refraction. See “refraction survey.”

shale. A clastic sedimentary rock made of clay-sized 

particles that exhibit parallel splitting properties.

sheetwash (sheet erosion). The removal of thin layers of 

surface material more or less evenly from an extensive 

area of gently sloping land by broad continuous sheets 

of running water rather than by streams flowing in 

well-defined channels.

silt. Clastic sedimentary material intermediate in size 

between fine-grained sand and coarse clay (1/256 to 

1/16 mm [0.00015 to 0.002 in]).

siltstone. A variably lithified sedimentary rock composed 

of silt-sized grains.

spring. A site where water issues from the surface due to 

the intersection of the water table with the ground 

surface.

strata. Tabular or sheet-like masses or distinct layers of 

rock.

strike-slip fault. A fault with measurable offset where the 

relative movement is parallel to the strike of the fault. 

Said to be “sinistral” (left-lateral) if relative motion of 

the block opposite the observer appears to be to the 

left. “Dextral” (right-lateral) describes relative motion 

to the right.

structure. The attitude and relative positions of the rock 

masses of an area resulting from such processes as 

faulting, folding, and igneous intrusions.

subduction zone. A convergent plate boundary where 

oceanic lithosphere descends beneath a continental or 

oceanic plate and is carried down into the mantle.

syncline. A downward curving (concave up) fold with 

layers that dip inward; the core of the syncline 

contains the stratigraphically-younger rocks.

talus. Rock fragments, usually coarse and angular, lying 

at the base of a cliff or steep slope from which they 

have been derived.

tectonic. Relating to large-scale movement and 

deformation of Earth’s crust.

terrace (stream). Step-like benches surrounding the 

present floodplain of a stream due to dissection of 

previous flood plain(s), stream bed(s), and/or valley 

floor(s).

terrane. A large region or group of rocks with similar 

geology, age, or structural style.

terrestrial. Relating to land, Earth, or its inhabitants.

thrust fault. A contractional dip-slip fault with a 

shallowly dipping fault surface (less than 45°) where 

the hanging wall moves up and over relative to the 

footwall.

topography. The general morphology of Earth’s surface, 

including relief and locations of natural and 

anthropogenic features.

transgression. Landward migration of the sea as a result 

of a relative rise in sea level.

trend. The direction or azimuth of elongation of a linear 

geologic feature.
44 NPS Geologic Resources Division

tuff. Generally fine-grained, igneous rock formed of 

consolidated volcanic ash.

type locality. The geographic location where a 

stratigraphic unit (or fossil) is well displayed, formally 

defined, and derives its name. The place of original 

description.

unconformity. An erosional or non-depositional surface

bounded on one or both sides by sedimentary strata 

that marks a period of missing time.

uplift. A structurally high area in the crust, produced by 

movement that raises the rocks.

volcanic. Related to volcanoes. Igneous rock crystallized 

at or near the Earth’s surface (e.g., lava).

water table. The upper surface of the saturated zone; the 

zone of rock in an aquifer saturated with water.

weathering. The set of physical, chemical, and biological 

processes by which rock is broken down.
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 45

References

This section lists references cited in this report. A more complete geologic bibliography is 

available from the National Park Service Geologic Resources Division.

Bagley, W. 2002. Pipe Springs legends will keep flowing. 

Salt Lake Tribune, B1. March 24, 2002.

Barrett, D. C., and O. R. Williams. 1986. An evaluation of 

the decline in spring flow at Pipe Spring National 

Monument. Memo report to the Chief, Water Rights 

Branch.

Becker, L., R.J. Poreda, A.G. Hunt, T.E. Bunch, and M. 

Rampino. 2001. Impact event at the Permian-Triassic 

boundary: Evidence from extraterrestrial noble gases 

in fullerenes. Science (February 23): 1530-1533.

Biek, R. F., G. C. Willis, M. D. Hylland, and H. H. 

Doelling. 2000. Geology of Zion National Park, Utah. 

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Sprinkel, T. C. Chidsey Jr., and P. B. Anderson, 107-

138. Utah Geological Association Publication 28.

Billingsley, G. H., S. S. Priest, and T. J. Felger. 2004. 

Geologic map of Pipe Spring National Monument and 

the western Kaibab-Paiute Indian Reservation, Mohave 

County, Arizona. Scale 1:31,680. U.S. Geological 

Survey, Scientific Investigation Map 2863. 

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Blakey, R. C. 1994. Paleogeographic and tectonic 

controls on some Lower and Middle Jurassic erg 

deposits, Colorado Plateau. In Mesozoic systems of the 

Rocky Mountain region, USA, ed. M. V. Caputo, J. A. 

Peterson, and K. J. Franczyk, 273-298. Society for 

Sedimentary Geology, Rocky Mountain Section.

Chapin, C. E., and S.M. Cather. 1983. Eocene tectonics 

and sedimentation in the Colorado Plateau – Rocky 

Mountain area. In Rocky Mountain foreland basins and 

uplifts, ed. J. Lowell, 33-56. Rocky Mountain 

Association of Geologists.

Christiansen, E. II, B.J. Kowallis, and M.D. Barton. 1994. 

Temporal and spatial distribution of volcanic ash in 

Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the Western Interior: 

An alternative record of Mesozoic magmatism. In 

Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain region, USA, 

ed. M. V. Caputo, J. A. Peterson, and K. J. Franczyk, 

73-94. Society for Sedimentary Geology, Rocky 

Mountain Section.

Cuffey, R. J., M. J. Di Nardo-Magilton, and B. J. Herzing. 

1998. Dinosaur footprints in the basal Navajo 

Sandstone (Lower Jurassic) at Pipe Spring National 

Monument, northwestern Arizona. In The third 

National Park Service paleontological research volume, 

ed. V. L. Santucci and L. McClelland, 149-152. 

Geologic Resources Division Technical Report 

NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-98/01. Lakewood, CO: 

National Park Service. 

http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/paleontology/pub

/grd3_3/pisp1.htm.

Dickinson, W. R., and W.S. Snyder. 1978. Plate tectonics 

of the Laramide Orogeny. In Laramide folding 

associated with basement block faulting in the western 

United States, ed. V. Matthews III, 355-366. Memoir 

151. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America.

Doelling, H. H. 2000. Geology of Arches National Park, 

Grand County, Utah. In Geology of Utah’s parks and 

monuments, ed. D. A. Sprinkel, T. C. Chidsey Jr., and P. 

B. Anderson, 11-36. Utah Geological Association, 

Publication 28.

Dubiel, R. F. 1994. Triassic deposystems, 

paleogeography, and paleoclimate of the Western 

Interior. In Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain 

region, USA, ed. M. V. Caputo, J. A. Peterson, and K. J. 

Franczyk, 133-168. Society for Sedimentary Geology, 

Rocky Mountain Section.

Erslev, E. A. 1993. Thrusts, back-thrusts, and detachment 

of Rocky Mountain foreland arches. In Laramide 

basement deformation in the Rocky Mountain foreland 

of the western United States, ed. C. J. Schmidt, R. B. 

Chase, and E. A. Erslev, 339-358. Special Paper 280. 

Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America.

Fenton, C. R., R. H. Webb, P. A. Pearthree, T. E. Cerling, 

and R. J. Poreda. 2001. Displacement rates on the 

Toroweap and Hurricane faults: Implications for 

Quaternary downcutting in the Grand Canyon, 

Arizona. Geology 29 (11): 1035-1038.

Gregory, H.E. 1950, Geology and Geography of the Zion 

Park Region Utah and Arizona. Professional Paper 220. 

Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey.

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/pp/pp220

Gries, R. 1983. North-south compression of Rocky 

Mountain foreland structures. In Rocky Mountain 

foreland basins and uplifts, ed. J. D. Lowell and R. 

Gries, 9-32. Rocky Mountain Association of 

Geologists.

Hamilton, W. B. 1988. Laramide crustal shortening. 

Memoir 171. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of 

America.

Hamilton, W. L. 1992. The sculpturing of Zion. Revised 

1984 ed. Springdale, UT: Zion Natural History 

Association.

Huntoon, J. E., J. D. Stanesco, R. F. Dubiel, and J. 

Dougan. 2000. Geology of Natural Bridges National 

Monument, Utah, In Geology of Utah’s parks and 
46 NPS Geologic Resources Division

monuments, ed. D. A. Sprinkel, T. C. Chidsey Jr., and P. 

B. Anderson, 233-250. Utah Geological Association 

Publication 28.

Huntoon, P. W. 2003. Post-Precambrian tectonism in the 

Grand Canyon region. In Grand Canyon geology, ed. S. 

S. Beus and M. Morales, 222-259. 2nd ed. Oxford 

University Press.

Inglis, R. 1990. Water resources data of the Pipe Spring 

National Monument area, Arizona, 1977-1989. Water 

Resources Division Technical Report 

NPS/WRD/NRTR-90/02. Fort Collins, CO: National 

Park Service.

Inglis, R. 1997. Monitoring and analysis of spring flows at 

Pipe Spring National Monument, Mojave County, 

Arizona. Water Resources Division Technical Report 

NPS/NRWRD/NRTR-97/125. Fort Collins, CO: 

National Park Service.

http://www.nature.nps.gov/water/technicalReports/

Intermountain/PISP_1997.pdf

Lawton, T. F. 1994. Tectonic setting of Mesozoic 

sedimentary basins, Rocky Mountain region, United 

States. In Mesozoic systems of the Rocky Mountain 

region, USA, ed. M. V. Caputo, J. A. Peterson, and K. J. 

Franczyk, 1-26. Society for Sedimentary Geology, 

Rocky Mountain Section.

Lockley, M. G. and A. P. Hunt. 1994. A review of 

Mesozoic vertebrate ichnofaunas of the Western 

Interior United States: Evidence and implications of a 

superior track record. In Mesozoic systems of the Rocky 

Mountain region, ed. M.V. Caputo, J.A. Peterson, and 

K.J. Franczyk, 95-103. Society for Sedimentary 

Geology, Rocky Mountain Section.

Luedke, R. G., and R. L. Smith. 1991. Quaternary 

volcanism in the western conterminous United States. 

In Quaternary nonglacial geology: Conterminous U.S., 

ed. R. B. Morrison, 75-92. Geological Society of 

America, The Geology of North America K-2.

Lund, W. R., T. R. Knudsen, and G. S. Vice. 2008. 

Paleoseismic reconnaissance of the Sevier Fault, Kane 

and Garfield Counties, Utah. Paleoseismology of Utah 

16, Special Study 122. Salt Lake City, UT: Utah 

Geological Survey.

Lund, W. R., W. J. Taylor, P. A. Pearthree, H. Stenner, L. 

Amoroso, and H. Hurlow. 2002. Structural 

development and paleoseismicity of the Hurricane Fault, 

southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona. Fieldtrip 

Guidebook 2002 Rocky Mountain Section Annual 

Meeting. Cedar City, UT: Geological Society of 

America.

http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of02-

172/chapters/chap1.pdf. 

Martin, L. 2007. Summary of spring flow decline and local 

hydrogeologic studies, 1969-2007, Pipe Spring National 

Monument. Water Resources Division, Natural 

Resources Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRTR2007/365. Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service.

http://www.nature.nps.gov/water/technicalReports/

Intermountain/PISP_Hydrology_Report.pdf

Mayerle, C. and S. Urquhart. 2008. CSAMT geophysical 

survey, Pipe Springs project, Kanab, Utah. Report 

Prepared for National Park Service, May 2008. 

Tucson, AZ: Zonge Engineering & Research 

Organization Inc.

McKoy, K. L. 2000. Cultures at a crossroads: An 

administrative history of Pipe Spring National 

Monument. Cultural Resources Selections 15. Denver, 

CO: National Park Service, Intermountain Region. 

http://www.nps.gov/pisp/historyculture/upload/PISP_

adhi.pdf.

Morris, T. H., V. W. Manning, and S. M. Ritter. 2000. 

Geology of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. In 

Geology of Utah’s parks and monuments, ed. D. A. 

Sprinkel, T. C. Chidsey Jr., and P. B. Anderson, 85-106. 

Utah Geological Association Publication 28.

National Park Service. 2004. Pipe Spring National 

Monument. NCPN Phase III Report, Appendix E. 

http://www.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncpn/

link_library/park_descriptions/pisp_description.pdf.

Patton, P. C., N. Biggar, C. D. Condit, M. L. Gillam, D. 

W. Love, M. N. Machette, L. Mayer, R. B. Morrison, 

and J. N. Rosholt. 1991. Quaternary geology of the 

Colorado Plateau. In Quaternary nonglacial geology: 

Conterminous U.S., ed. R. B. Morrison, 373-407. 

Geological Society of America, The Geology of North 

America K-2.

Peterson, F. 1994. Sand dunes, sabkhas, stream, and 

shallow seas: Jurassic paleogeography in the southern 

part of the Western Interior Basin. In Mesozoic systems 

of the Rocky Mountain region, USA, ed. M. V. Caputo, J. 

A. Peterson, and K. J. Franczyk, 233-272. Society for 

Sedimentary Geology, Rocky Mountain Section.

Peterson, J. A. 1980. Permian paleogeography and 

sedimentary provinces, west central United States. In 

Paleozoic paleogeography of the west-central United 

States, ed. T. D. Fouch and E. R. Magathan, 271-292. 

Society for Sedimentary Geology, Rocky Mountain 

Section.

Raup, D. M. 1991. Extinction: Bad genes or bad luck? New 

York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Rawson, R.R. and C.E. Turner-Peterson. 1980. 

Paleogeography of northern Arizona during the 

deposition of the Permian Toroweap Formation. In 

Paleozoic paleogeography of the west-central United 

State, ed. T.D. Fouch and E.R. Magathan, 341-352. 

Society for Sedimentary Geology, Rocky Mountain 

Section.

Rymer, M. J., R. D. Catchings, M. R. Goldman, C. E. 

Steedman, and G. Gandhok. 2007. Subsurface structure 

of the Sevier Fault near Pipe Spring National Monument 
 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 47

and the western Kaibab-Paiute Reservation, Mohave 

County, Arizona – A seismic reflection and refraction 

study. Open-File Report (draft). Lakewood, CO: U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Sabol, T. A. 2005. Delineation of wellhead and 

springhead protection areas for the Kaibab Paiute 

Indian Reservation, Arizona. MS thesis, Northern 

Arizona University.

Santucci, V. L., A. P. Hunt, and M. G. Lockley. 1998. 

Fossil vertebrate tracks in National Park Service areas. 

Dakoterra 5: 107-114.

Santucci, V. L., J. P. Kenworthy, and A. L. Mims. 2009. 

Monitoring in situ paleontological resources. In 

Geological Monitoring, eds. R. Young and L. Norby, 

189-204. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America.

Sharrow, D. 2009. Physical resources information and 

issues overview report: Pipe Spring National 

Monument. Water Resources Division, Natural 

Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2009/149. 

Fort Collins, CO: National Park Service.

Silberling, N. J. and R.J. Roberts. 1962. Pre-Tertiary 

stratigraphy and structure of northwestern Nevada. 

Special Paper 72. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of 

America.

Smiley, T. L., R. A. Bryson, J. E. King, G. J. Kukla, and G. 

I. Smith. 1991. Quaternary paleoclimates. In 

Quaternary nonglacial geology: Conterminous U.S., ed. 

Roger B. Morrison, 13-45. Geological Society of 

America, The Geology of North America K-2.

Stewart, J. H., F. G. Poole, and R.F. Wilson. 1972A. 

Stratigraphy and origin of the Triassic Moenkopi 

Formation and related strata in the Colorado Plateau 

region with a section on sedimentary petrology by R.A. 

Cadigan. Professional Paper 691. Lakewood, CO: U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Stewart, J. H., F. G. Poole, and R.F. Wilson. 1972B. 

Stratigraphy and origin of the Chinle Formation and 

related Upper Triassic strata in the Colorado Plateau 

region with a section on sedimentary petrology by R.A. 

Cadigan and on Conglomerate Studies by W. 

Thordarson, H.F. Albee, and J.H. Stewart. Professional 

Paper 690. Lakewood, CO: U.S. Geological Survey. 

Stokes, W.L. 1988. Dinosaur tour book. Salt Lake City: 

Starstone Publishing.

Truini, M. 1999. Geohydrology of Pipe Spring National 

Monument area, northern Arizona. Water-Resources 

Investigations Report 98-4263. Reston, VA: U.S. 

Geological Survey.

Truini, M., J.B. Fleming, and H.A. Pierce. 2004. 

Preliminary investigation of structural controls of 

ground-water movement in Pipe Spring National 

Monument, Arizona. Scientific Investigations Report 

2004-5082. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey.

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/sir/sir20045082.

 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 49

Appendix A: Geologic Map Graphic

The following page is a snapshot of the geologic map for Pipe Spring National 

Monument. For a poster-size PDF of this map or for digital geologic map data, please see

the included CD or visit the Geologic Resources Inventory publications Web page

(http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/inventory/gre_publications.cfm).

 PISP Geologic Resources Inventory Report 51

Appendix B: Scoping Summary

The following excerpts are from the GRI scoping summary for Pipe Spring National 

Monument. The contact information and Web addresses in this appendix may be 

outdated. Please contact the Geologic Resources Division for current information.

Summary

A geologic resources inventory workshop was held for 

Pipe Spring National Monument (PISP) on June 28, 2001 

to discuss the park’s geologic resources, to address the 

status of geologic mapping for compiling both paper and 

digital maps, and to assess resource management issues 

and needs. Cooperators from the NPS Geologic 

Resources Division (GRD), NPS Pipe Spring NM, 

Colorado State University (CSU), and United States 

Geologic Survey (USGS) were present for the workshop. 

This workshop was part of a multi-park scoping session 

also involving Petrified Forest National Park, Navajo 

National Monument, Sunset Crater National 

Monument, Wupatki National Monument, and Walnut 

Canyon National Monument.

The workshop involved a half-day scoping session to 

present overviews of the NPS Inventory and Monitoring 

(I&M) program, the Geologic Resources Division, and 

the on-going Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI). 

Round table discussions involving geologic issues for 

Pipe Spring National Monument included interpretation, 

natural resources, the status of geologic mapping efforts, 

sources of available data, geologic hazards, and action 

items generated from this meeting. A site visit was not 

made to PISP as part of this scoping meeting.

Currently, the greatest issue facing park resource 

management is dealing with the potential threats of 

resource loss from the springs drying up. Spring 

discharge rates have decreased from 60,000 gallons per 

day (gpd) during the 1960s to 15,000 gpd today. Tunnel 

Spring has captured the flow from Main Spring.

It is hoped that a new geologic investigation by the USGS 

at PISP will supply pertinent information on the 

geophysical nature of the spring system as well as 

produce much needed derivative geologic maps to aid in 

resource management at PISP.

Geologic Mapping

Preliminary geologic maps of the PISP area were done in 

the 1950s as part of crude reconnaissance mapping. The 

Short Creek NE, Fredonia NW, Short Creek SE, and 

Fredonia SW maps are preliminary at best and need 

significant refinement even though they are at 1:24,000 

scale. The four quadrangles of interest to the park 

correlate to the existing photogeologic maps as follows:

Quadrangles of 

Interest

Existing Photogeologic 

Map

Moccasin Short Creek NE

Kaibab Fredonia NW

Pipe Valley Short Creek SE

Pipe Spring Fredonia SW

Dave Sharrow (PISP Hydrologist) and George Billingsley 

(USGS-Flagstaff, AZ) informed the scoping participants 

of an existing USGS initiative to conduct new geologic 

field studies that would involve mapping the entire 

extent of PISP at a 1:31,680 scale. This would cover the 

four quadrangles of interest to PISP. The proposal is 

outlined in PMIS as project number 61103 and is titled 

Geologic Mapping and Seismic Profile Investigations in 

Support of Geohydrology of Pipe Spring. 

As part of this project, extensive geophysical studies 

would be completed to better understand the nature of 

the springs, faults and regional hydrologic picture. 

Margot Truini is the USGS lead for this project and 

George Billingsley will likely be doing much of the field 

mapping. Total cost is approximately $308,000 and has 

been funded by the NPS-NRPP as of November 2001.

Digital Geologic Map Coverage 

At present, a digital coverage of the 1950s photogeologic 

maps is not known. In the event that digitized versions of 

the existing maps are not found, and until new larger 

scale mapping can be accomplished for the PISP area, 

participants suggested that the existing 1: 24,000 scale 

photogeologic maps be scanned, registered, rectified and 

digitized for use in a GIS. These can serve as a 

preliminary geologic map until new mapping is 

completed.

When new USGS mapping for the area is completed at 

1:31,680 scale, a refined digital version will be part of the 

deliverables.

Miscellaneous Items of Interest

• There may be significant seismic hazards associated 

with the Sevier Fault because it runs through PISP; 

hopefully the new mapping will delineate any such 

issues and offer suggestions on how to recognize 

threats to park resources. 

• The USGS has already published Geohydrology of Pipe 

Spring National Monument Area, Northern Arizona, by 

Margot Truini as Water Resources Investigation 98-

4263.

• Current natural resource staff at PISP are Dave 

Sharrow and Andrea Bornemeyer.
52 NPS Geologic Resources Division

Scoping Meeting Participants

Name Affiliation Position Phone E-mail

Sid Ash NPS, PEFO 505-856-5852 Sidash@aol.com 

Karen Beppler NPS, PEFO 928-624-6228 ext.263 Karen_beppler@nps.gov 

George Billingsley USGS Geologist 928-556-7198 Gbillingsley@usgs.gov

Debra Block USGS 928-556-7138 Dblock@usgs.gov 

James Charles NPS, NAVA Superintendent 928-672-2700 James_charles@nps.gov 

Sue Clements NPS, PEFO Tecumseh@selway.umt.edu

Tim Connors NPS, GRD Geologist 303-969-2093 Tim_Connors@nps.gov

Helen Fairley NPS, Flagstaff 928-526-1157 Helen_fairley@nps.gov

Tracey Felger NPS, GRCA GIS-specialist 520-556-7164 Tracey_felger@nps.gov

John Graham CSU Geologist 970-225-6333 rockdoc250@comcast.net 

Susan Hanson NPS, SUCR GIP

520-526-0502

517-264-3944 Slhanson@adrian.edu

Kevin Harper NPS, NAVA Archeologist 520-672-2720 Kevin_harper@nps.gov 

Ron Hiebert NPS, NAU-CESU 520-523-0877 Ron.hiebert@nau.edu 

Sherrie Landon NAVA Geologist 307-755-1336 Slandon@uwyo.edu

Allyson Mathis NPS, GRCA Interpreter 520-638-7955 Allyson_mathis@nps.gov 

Todd Metzger NPS, Flagstaff Todd_Metzger@nps.gov

Michael Ort Northern Arizona U. 928-523-9363 Michael.ort@nau.edu

Bill Parker NPS, PEFO Paleontologist William_parker@nps.gov

John Rihs NPS, GRCA Hydrologist 520-638-7905 John_rihs@nps.gov

Dave Sharrow NPS, PISP 435-644-4318 Dave_sharrow@nps.gov

Della Snyder NPS, GRCA 928-226-0163 Della_snyder@nps.gov

Nicole Tancreto NPS, Flagstaff

928-556-7466 

ext. 240 Nicole_tancreto@nps.gov 

Jessica Wellmeyer USGS Geologist 928-556-7267 Jwellmeyer@hotmail.com

Brenton White NPS, NAVA 520-672-2720 Brenton_White@nps.gov

Paul Whitefield NPS, Flagstaff NR specialist 928-526-1157 Paul_whitefield@nps.gov 
Pipe Spring National Monument

Geologic Resources Inventory Report

Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR—2009/164

National Park Service

Director • Jonathan Jarvis

Natural Resource Stewardship and Science

Associate Director • Bert Frost

Natural Resource Program Center

The Natural Resource Program Center (NRPC) is the core of the NPS Natural Resource Stewardship and 

Science Directorate. The Center Director is located in Fort Collins, with staff located principally in Lakewood 

and Fort Collins, Colorado and in Washington, D.C. The NRPC has five divisions: Air Resources Division, 

Biological Resource Management Division, Environmental Quality Division, Geologic Resources Division, and 

Water Resources Division. NRPC also includes three offices: The Office of Education and Outreach, the Office 

of Inventory, Monitoring, and Evaluation, and Office of Natural Resource Information Systems. In addition, 

Natural Resource Web Management and Partnership Coordination are cross-cutting disciplines under the 

Center Director. The multidisciplinary staff of NRPC is dedicated to resolving park resource management 

challenges originating in and outside units of the National Park System.

Geologic Resources Division

Chief • Dave Steensen

Planning, Evaluation, and Permits Branch Chief • Carol McCoy

Geoscience and Restoration Branch Chief • Hal Pranger

Credits

Author • John Graham

Review • Dave Sharrow, George Billingsley, Bruce Heise

Editing • Steve Hoffman

Digital Map Production • Jim Chappell and Stephanie O’Meara

Map Layout Design • Josh Heise and Georgia Hybels

The Department of the Interior protects and manages the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other 

information about those resources; and honors its special responsibilities to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated Island 

Communities

NPS 321/100624, January 2010
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM 

Geologic Resources Division 

Natural Resource Program Center 

P.O. Box 25287 

Denver, CO 80225 

www.nature.nps.gov 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior