Utah’s national parks are full of strange and unique rock formations of all kinds, from the spires and hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park to the natural arches and bridges found at Arches National Park. There’s a puzzling rock formation at Canyonlands National Park, and for years scientists disagreed about how it came to be. Today, there’s a leading theory, and it involves a meteorite impact!

Canyonlands National Park is a vast, stunning place that's filled with incredible rock formations, rivers, buttes, and sweeping vistas. It covers more than 137,000 acres.
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The park also contains a strange rock formation that was the subject of speculation amongst geologists for years. It's called Upheaval Dome.
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The strange dome sits in the middle of a crater that measures 6.2 miles in diameter. It's a startling scar on the landscape, and for years, scientists disagreed about what it was and how it formed.
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Everyone agreed that the rock is somewhere around 170 millions old, but it's clearly out of place compared to its surroundings.
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While most of the rock formations at Canyonlands are layered in flat strata, this rock is lying nearly vertical in places. Various kinds of rock, including shale and sandstone have been identified here, dating from many different time periods.
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The various types of shale and sandstone are thought to be parts of the Cutler Formation. the Triassic Moenkopi Formation, the Chinle Formation, and the Kayenta Formation. Some of them are resting on top of each other in ways not typically seen.

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Some geologists thought that the formation was a salt dome that had been pushed up due to the weight of other, surrounding rock. Other geologists had a more alarming theory.
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They thought that a meteorite had crashed into this landscape around 60 million years ago, creating the huge crater and, after years of erosion, its odd dome of rock.
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NASA scientists and geologists from the University of Nevada teamed up in the 1990s to complete a huge study using seismic refraction. Their findings supported the meteorite theory.
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Shocked quartz was discovered at Upheaval Dome in 2008. It's created with intense pressure that only results from a huge nuclear explosion or impact. The discovery further confirmed the meteorite theory, but scientists still have some unanswered questions.
You can see Upheaval Dome in the Island in the Sky District at Canyonlands National Park. Take the Upheaval Dome trail, which is just 1.7 miles, out and back.
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Gaze over this incredible scenery and ponder the tremendous force of a meteorite hitting this place millions of years ago!
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Learn more about the theories surrounding Upheaval Dome on the Canyonlands National Park website.

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