Harpers Corner Trail

Harpers Corner Trail

For those who enjoy up-close and personal dramas, ones that have allowed geologists and botanists to unlock mysteries of the past, Harpers Corner may satisfy that urge. But because most won’t have the geological or botanical insights of a research scientist, we won’t make Harpers Corner a mystery walk. Still, as you begin your hike, you might start with a puzzle. Begin by questioning the presence of the reddish rocks along the trail. How did they get here? The rock is a type of sandstone, and if you examine one you’ll see it is composed of a fine sand that pressure has compacted into a solid piece. Despite its compact appearance, if you tapped it with a light hammer, the rock would crack apart, revealing a sand-like consistency. We geological wannabes can be fairly sure the rock seen here belongs to one of the groups described earlier in the book, which were laid down almost a billion years ago by vast inland seas. Geologists familiar with the entire area say that they’ve found such sandstone not only here but also in the Uintas and along the Green River—in Whirlpool Canyon, just below. Synthesizing this information, they say that the rounded sandstone rocks originated in the Uintas and were washed here eons ago. The question, then, is how did all these rocks of congealed sand come to occupy an area 7,500 feet above sea level? Put another way, how can this sandstone be higher than its source of origin? To answer that question we must look for additional clues. Look now at some of the other rocks along the trail, and you may see they are embedded with fossils.

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