Layers in Time
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Portraits in Stone

Layers in Time, also, Portraits in Stone. . , Layers in Time , From this vantage point the colorful layers of the badlands are very apparent. Individual layers can be traced for miles across the buttes in the distance. What caused the rocks to form this way? , Many millions of years ago, a sea covered the middle of the North American continent. As the sea receded, this area became a vast river delta where streams and rivers fanned out and emptied into the sea., Sediment washed down from the Rocky Mountains came to rest in large, flat sheets across the river delta. The layers built up over time, creating the Great Plains. You are looking back in time as you scan the canyon walls from top to bottom. , , Portraits in Stone , Plants and animals trapped in sediment are sometimes preserved as fossils. These stone portraits paint a picture of the climate and habitat present when the rock layers formed. , Fossils and other geologic evidence found in the exposed rock layers indicate a warm, we habitat similar to today's Florida Everglades. , , Where are the dinosaurs? , Rocks visible in the badlands are estimated to have formed between 55 and 65 million years ago. They are too young to contain dinosaur fossils. If there are any such fossils here they are further down in rock layers yet to be revealed.