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Fin Canyon as seen from Devils Garden Trail. Image taken in late July 2013. This image is 28% size of the original.

This is Entrada Sandstone which was formed from sediments laid down on tidal flats, beaches, and coastal dunes of a sea sometime between 150 million to 200 million years ago in the Jurassic period. The Entrada beds were later uplifted by several hundred meters (several thousand feet) about 20 million years ago. This huge uplift created long, deep, vertical cracks in the sandstone, approximately 3 to 6 meters (10 to 20 feet) apart from each other. Slightly acidic rain water (water + carbon dioxide makes carbonic acid) broke down the calcium carbonate that cemented the sand grains together, releasing them to form fin structures.

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last updated: August 13, 2019