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Geological Formation

San Rafael Swell

Structural and Tectonic Formations

The San Rafael Swell is a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale and limestone in south-central Utah, entirely within Emery County on the Colorado Plateau, about 16 miles west of Green River and spanning roughly 75 by 40 miles. It formed during the Laramide Orogeny, between about 60 and 40 million years ago, when deeply buried Precambrian basement rock faulted and shifted upward, folding the sedimentary layers above it into the broad swell seen today; since then, infrequent but powerful flash floods have carved the exposed sandstone, shale and limestone into an intricate maze of valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas, buttes and badlands, continually exposing older rock at the swell's eroded center while younger rock remains at its edges. Its steep eastern edge, the San Rafael Reef, displays prominent folded strata of resistant Jurassic and Permian sandstone, and the swell's drainage, carried by the San Rafael River and Muddy Creek, predates the uplift itself, cutting straight across the rising structure rather than around it. This entity documents the San Rafael Swell specifically as a geological formation.

Connections

Associated With

Limestone, Materials
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
Paleocene, Eras
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
Sandstone, Materials
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
Shale, Materials
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Erosion, Processes
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
Folding, Processes
Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
Orogeny, Processes

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Orogeny via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Geomorphology, Disciplines

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to discipline Geomorphology via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: San Rafael Swell
In the Other Atlases

Found In

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Wikidata: San Rafael Swell
Sources
Wikidata: San Rafael Swell
Wikidata Q7415223, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
San Rafael Swell (Wikipedia)
  • Associated With: Sandstone, Lead paragraph
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Limestone, Lead paragraph
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Sandstone, Lead, rock Sandstone
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Shale, Lead, rock Shale
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Limestone, Lead, rock Limestone
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Associated With: Paleocene, Lead, age Paleocene
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Caused By: Orogeny, Lead, process Orogeny
    Measuring approximately 75 by 40 miles (121 by 64 km), the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that was pushed up during the Paleocene Laramide Orogeny 40-60 million years ago.
  • Caused By: Folding, Article text, process Folding
    These "basement" rocks below the present-day Swell moved upwards relative to the surrounding areas and caused the overlying sedimentary rocks to fold into a dome-like shape called an anticline.
  • Caused By: Erosion, Lead, process Erosion
    Since that time, infrequent but powerful flash floods have eroded the sedimentary rocks into numerous valleys, canyons, gorges, mesas, buttes, and badlands.
View the Source
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