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Description
The high cliffs of Colorado National Monument are formed by the Windgate Sandstone, an eolian (sand dune) deposit of Early Jurassic age. The dune sands of the Windgate were part of an enormous erg that occupied most of the Four Corners region in the Early Jurassic. The Wingate cliff is capped by erosionally resistant sandstone and conglomerate beds of the Kayenta Formation, which was deposited by northwestward flowing rivers in the Early Jurassic. The slopes at the foot of the Windgate cliff are underlain by red and orange mudstones of the Chinle Formation, a floodplain deposit of Late Triassic age. The wide canyon floor is underlain by very resistant Precambrian age gneiss and schist.

Description
The high cliffs of Colorado National Monument are formed by the Windgate Sandstone, an eolian (sand dune) deposit of Early Jurassic age. The dune sands of the Windgate were part of an enormous erg that occupied most of the Four Corners region in the Early Jurassic. The Wingate cliff is capped by erosionally resistant sandstone and conglomerate beds of the Kayenta Formation, which was deposited by northwestward flowing rivers in the Early Jurassic. The slopes at the foot of the Windgate cliff are underlain by red and orange mudstones of the Chinle Formation, a floodplain deposit of Late Triassic age. The wide canyon floor is underlain by very resistant Precambrian age gneiss and schist.