Today, our adventure was to visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area. This awesome park is about an hour west of Vegas and is located in the Mojave Desert. There is a 13 mile scenic drive through the park with many outlooks which allow for amazing photographs.
The most significant geologic feature of Red Rock Canyon is the Keystone Thrust Fault. A thrust fault apparently is a fracture in the earth's crust where one rock plate is thrust horizontally over another. About 65 million years ago, it is believed that two of the earth's crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate was shoved up and over younger sandstones. This thrust contact is clearly defined by the sharp contrast between the grey limestones and the red sandstones. The Keystone Thrust Fault extends from the Cottonwood Fault 13 miles northward to the vicinity of La Madre Mountain.
The photos in the slide show do not do the beauty of this park justice - it was breathtaking!!!
This evening, of course, we were off to the Strip - tonight we visited Caesar's Palace. I won a little - Graham lost a little -- we came away about even.
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