GEOLOGICAL HISTORY

weaved by non-linear threads of a self-created metahistory

heralding the onset of planetary posthistory

EARTH GLOBE OVERVIEW

PALEOHISTORY OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU

The Colorado Plateau is an elevated expanse of layered sedimentary rock that began to form 1.75 billion years ago with the formation and aggregation of continental crust.

At times, the region lay submerged beneath shallow seas; at others, it was dry and buried beneath shifting dunes. Mud, sand, and silt accumulated over millions of years. These periods of thick accumulation alternated with periods of complete erosion. Pressure from the weight of the remaining sedimentation increased and mineral-rich water cemented the particles together, changing the sediments to rock.

Beginning 70 million years ago, movement in the Earth’s crust forced mountain ranges to rise around the embryonic plateau. Later on, pressure from below forced the plateau to rise as a unit, which remained relatively stable thereafter.

From 10 million years ago, streams and rivers whitted away at the surface, cutting canyons and exposing rock unevenly through differential erosion. Volcanic eruptions further altered the landscape with dramatic explosions and the deposition of molten rock.

at the mythic heart of the North American continent
in a primordial desert wilderness
a harsh wonderland of resonating dreamtime

round sanctity
buried in ice and heat