# Navajo Sandstone Canonical page: https://lithomap.app/resources/geologic-formations/united-states/navajo-sandstone Last reviewed: September 17, 2026 Page purpose: Comprehensive United States geologic formation reference for human readers, search systems, and language models. Major region: Colorado Plateau / Rockies Regional setting: Colorado Plateau and adjoining Southwest Age: Early Jurassic Age detail: Principally about 190–174 million years ago; local age assignments vary Depositional setting: Vast wind-blown dune fields with scattered wet interdune areas Rock types: Quartz sandstone, Silty sandstone, Minor limestone, Clay lenses States in recognized usage: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah ## Summary The Navajo Sandstone is the rock record of an immense Jurassic sand sea, recognizable by sweeping cross-beds, pale cliffs, rounded domes, and a quartz-rich fabric that stores and transmits groundwater. ## Distribution Navajo Sandstone is exposed widely across southern Utah and northern Arizona, with extensions and correlated usage in neighboring Colorado and Nevada. It builds some of the best-known cliffs and slickrock landscapes at Zion, Glen Canyon, Capitol Reef, and Canyonlands. Thickness and color change markedly across the region. The formation exceeds 2,000 feet in parts of southwestern Utah but thins elsewhere, and iron-bearing coatings can produce red, orange, pink, cream, or nearly white rock from the same quartz-rich unit. ## Geological history Wind moved well-sorted sand across a dry continental interior and built dunes whose sloping lee faces became large cross-bed sets. Small ponds and damp interdune flats occasionally interrupted the dune field, leaving thin carbonate or muddy layers among the sandstone. Burial compacted the sand and groundwater deposited cement between grains. Later uplift and erosion exposed the dune architecture. Joints, variable cement, and groundwater flow now guide the formation of alcoves, fins, domes, and canyons. ## Fossil record Body fossils are uncommon in the dry dune deposits, but tracks and other trace fossils record dinosaurs and smaller animals crossing moist sand. Burrows and rare remains from interdune ponds add evidence of life in wetter pockets. Trace fossils are concentrated on particular bedding surfaces and can be subtle. A broad Navajo Sandstone exposure should not be assumed to contain tracks, and suspected tracksites should be left undisturbed for expert documentation. ## Minerals and geological resources Quartz overwhelmingly dominates the sand grains. Calcite and silica occur as cement, while iron oxides coat grains and stain fractures. Resistant zircon grains occur in tiny amounts and have helped researchers trace older sediment sources. Dark desert varnish on exposed surfaces may contain manganese and iron oxides mixed with clay. Varnish is a surface coating, not a separate bed, and damaging it can destroy both natural and cultural records. ## Field context - Rounded slickrock can become extremely slippery with sand, frost, or rain. - The porous formation is an important aquifer, but springs and seeps are fragile habitats rather than guaranteed water sources. - Collecting and off-trail travel are restricted in many parks, monuments, and tribal lands across its outcrop belt. ## Connected field guides - Quartz (mineral; Named rock type and mineral context) — https://lithomap.app/resources/mineral-identification/quartz - Limestone (rock; Named rock type) — https://lithomap.app/resources/rock-identification/limestone - Sandstone (rock; Named rock type) — https://lithomap.app/resources/rock-identification/sandstone - Calcite (mineral; Mineral discussed in this formation) — https://lithomap.app/resources/mineral-identification/calcite - Zircon (mineral; Mineral discussed in this formation) — https://lithomap.app/resources/mineral-identification/zircon Mapped location and formation context support an identification but cannot establish one. Compare several physical properties and use laboratory analysis when the material remains ambiguous. ## Connected state geology guides - Utah geology — https://lithomap.app/resources/geology/united-states/utah - Colorado geology — https://lithomap.app/resources/geology/united-states/colorado - Arizona geology — https://lithomap.app/resources/geology/united-states/arizona ## Authoritative sources - Navajo Sandstone — National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/navajo.htm - NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Navajo National Monument — National Park Service: https://home.nps.gov/articles/nps-geodiversity-atlas-navajo-national-monument-arizona.htm - Source of the Navajo sand — National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/sand-source.htm ## Formation photograph - Image: https://lithomap.app/_delivery/formations/navajo-sandstone.webp - Description: Pale Navajo Sandstone forming a prominent ridge in the San Rafael Reef, Utah - Creator: G. Thomas - License: Public domain — https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ - Source record: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SanRafaelReefUT.jpg Formation-level information does not prove that a fossil or mineral occurs at a specific coordinate. It also does not establish ownership, access, collecting permission, present conditions, or specimen identity.