Rainbow Basin sits in the Calico Peaks range of the Mojave Desert, about 8 miles north of Barstow in San Bernardino County, California. It rests on a quartz monzonite batholith dating to the late Jurassic or Cretaceous, above which lie three younger sedimentary units, the sandstone-siltstone-limestone-conglomerate Jackhammer Formation, the volcanic tuff, rhyolite and andesite of the Pickhandle Formation, and the conglomerate, limestone, sandstone and shale of the Barstow Formation. During the Cenozoic the buried batholith was exposed and bent downward under regional compression, forming a basin, and further compression, uplift and extension folded the sedimentary layers above it into the prominent Barstow Syncline along with several faults. A distinctive white band of rhyolitic tuff marks the upper Barstow Formation, and differential erosion of the varied rock types has sculpted the folded layers into the basin's striking badlands shapes and colors. This entity documents Rainbow Basin specifically as a geological formation.
Facts
Classification
Protected StatusNational Monument or Landmark 1 Visitor Access Connections
Associated With
In Discipline
Source Rainbow Basin (Wikipedia)
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Rainbow Basin (Wikipedia)
- designated a National Natural Landmark
Lead paragraph
It is accessible to the public via Irwin Road from Barstow to an unpaved loop road through the basin.
Associated With: Miocene, Lead, age Miocene
The basin is notable for its rock formations as well as its fossil beds, which have provided scientists with valuable information about life during the middle Miocene epoch, between 12 and 16 million years ago; and to the northeast the Calico Early Man Site.
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