The age of this rock unit is somewhat controversial. It may originate from the of the name. It was simply named for the 'Navajo Country' of the Southwestern United States .Gregory, 1917 The two major subunits of the Navajo are the Lamb Point Tongue (Cedar City area) and the Shurtz Sandstone Tongue (Kanab area).Averitt and others, 1955.
The Navajo Sandstone was originally named as the uppermost formation of the La Plata Group by Gregory and Stone in 1917. Baker reassigned it as the upper formation of Glen Canyon Group in 1936. Its age was modified by Lewis and others in 1961. The name was originally not used in northwest Colorado and northeast Utah, where the name 'Glen Canyon Sandstone' was preferred.Poole and Stewart, 1964 Its age was modified again by Padian in 1989.
Navajo Sandstone outcrops are found in these geologic locations:
The formation is also found in these parklands (incomplete list):
- Averitt, Paul, Wilson, R.F., Detterman, J.S., Harshbarger, J.W. and Repenning, C.A., 1955, "Revisions in correlation and nomenclature of Triassic and Jurassic formations in southwestern Utah and northern Arizona", American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 39, no. 12, p. 2515-2524
- Baker, A.A., 1936, "Geology of the Monument Valley-Navajo Mountain region, San Juan County, Utah", U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 865, 106 p., Also, U.S. Geological Survey Oil and Gas Investigations Map OM-168, and Bulletin 1087-D.
- Gregory, H.E. and Stone, R.W., 1917, "Geology of the Navajo country; a reconnaissance of parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah", U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 93, 161 p.
- Lewis, G.E., Irwin, J.H. and Wilson, R.F., 1961, "Age of the Glen Canyon Group (Triassic and Jurassic) on the Colorado Plateau", Geological Society of America Bulletin v. 72, no. 9, p. 1437-1440
- Padian, K., 1989, "Presence of dinosaur Scelidosaurus indicates Jurassic age for the Kayenta Formation (Glen Canyon Group, northern Arizona)", Geological Society of America, Geology, v. 17, no. 5, p. 438-441
- Poole, F.G. and Stewart, J.H., 1964, "Chinle Formation and Glen Canyon Sandstone in northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, IN Geological Survey research 1964", U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, 501-D, p. D30-D39
- USGS: Colorado River Basin Stratigraphy - Navajo Sandstone Accessed 18 March 2006 (public domain text)
- Chan, M.A., and A.W. Archer, 2000, ''Cyclic Eolian Stratification on the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, Zion National Park: Periodicities and Implications for Paleoclimate'' PDF version, 3.2 MB . in D.A. Sprinkel, T.C. Chidsey, Jr., and P.B. Anderson, eds., Geology of Utah's Parks and Monuments. Utah Geological Association Publication 28:1-11.
- Chan, M.A. and W.T. Parry, 2002, ''Mysteries of Sandstone Colors and Concretions in Colorado Plateau Canyon Country'' PDF version, 468 KB Utah Geological Survey Public Information Series 77:1-19.
- Chan, M.A., B. Beitler, W.T. Parry, J. Ormo, and G. Komatsu, 2005. ''Utah Marbles and Mars blueberries: Comparitive terrestrial analogs for hematite concretions on Mars'' PDF version . Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI (abstract 1402), Houston, Texas.
- Loope, D.B., and C.M. Rowe, 2003, ''Long-Lived Pluvial Episodes during Deposition of the Navajo Sandstone'' PDF version, 1.3 MB . The Journal of Geology 111:223-232.
- Loope, D.B., and C.M. Rowe, 2005, ''Seasonal Patterns of wind and rain recorded by the Navajo Sandstone'' PDF version, 7.4 MB . Canyon Legacy. 54:8-12.
- Loope, D., L. Eisenberg, and E. Waiss, 2004, ''Navajo sand sea of near-equatorial Pangea: Tropical westerlies, slumps, and giant stromatolites'' PDF version, 9.1 MB . in E.P. Nelson and E.A. Erslev, eds., Field Trips in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA. Geological Society of America Field Guide 5:1-13.
- Loope, D.B., C.M. Rowe, and R.M. Joeckel, 2001, ''Annual monsoon rains recorded by Jurassic dunes'' PDF version, 284 KB . Nature. 412:64-66.
- Loope, D.B., M.B. Steiner, C.M. Rowe, and N. Lancaster, 2004, ''Tropical westerlies over Pangean sand seas'' PDF version, 340 KB . Sedimentology. 51:315-322.
- Rainforth, E.C., 1997, ''Vertebrate ichnological diversity and census studies, Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone'' PDF version, 3.9 MB . Unpublished masters thesis, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder.
- Tape, C., 2004, ''Cross-bedding in the Navajo Sandstone and implications for paleoclimate forcing, Zion national Park Site'' PDF version, 4.7 MB . in J.L. Kirschvink, ed., Field Trip to Colorado Plateau (southern Utah, northern Arizona, Permian-Triassic boundary). Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, University of California.
- Tape, C., 2005, ''The Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone: large-scale deposition and small-scale structures, Site: Glen Canyon Dam'' PDF version, 4.8 MB . in J.L. Kirschvink, ed., Field Trip to Colorado Plateau (southern Utah, northern Arizona, Permian-Triassic boundary). Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, University of California.
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