The Ever-Changing Landscape

The Ever-Changing Landscape. . , Formed over eons, this inspiring landscape offers us a sense of wonder., The landscape of Petit Jean State Park reveals a story of stone, weather, and time., Much of Petit Jean's exceptional landscape results from earthen rock eroding and weathering' at different rates., Hard Hartshorne Sandstone is slow to erode, and it composes the highlands and ridges here at Palisades Overlook and across the canyon at CCC Overlook. Shale, quicker to erode, forms much of this mountain's lower lying valleys., Hundreds of millions of years ago, what is now the top of Petit Jean Mountain was the floor of a valley. Water flowing along this valley carved away most of the earthen rock of today's upper and lower canyon. Shale landforms surrounding this ancient valley floor weathered away, while most of the harder Hartshorne Sandstone remained to become this elevation where you stand today., The mountain's most dramatic drainage occurs at Cedar Falls. Mountain runoff arrives at the falls and cascades from its Hartshorne cap to the creek bed of softer shale. Millions of years of water carved the canyon deeper., Weathering is the breakdown of rocks and other natural materials on the earth's surface.