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Upheaval Dome
Upheaval Dome is a mysterious geological formation in San Juan County, Utah, USA, believed to be either a meteorite impact crater or a salt dome. It is located about 35 km southwest of Moab, within the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park.
Upheaval Dome spans about 10 km in diameter and is estimated to be less than 170 million years old, dating to the Jurassic period or later, though its exact age remains uncertain. The structure is easily recognized at the surface by its distinct light and dark brown concentric rings.
Geology
From a stratigraphic perspective, the oldest rock exposed at the center is the Permian Organ Rock Shale, overlain by the Permian White Rim Sandstone—both often grouped within the Cutler Formation. The Triassic Moenkopi Formation (bounded by unconformities). Above these layers, followed by the Chinle Formation, the cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, and finally the cross-bedded Navajo Sandstone of Triassic–Jurassic age.
Upheaval Dome is a circular, dome-like structure with some rock layers near its center tilted almost vertically. In the Kayenta Formation on the U-shaped plateau encircling the dome, dips of up to 70 degrees have been recorded. Surrounding the center is a syncline forming a nearly perfect circular axis about two miles wide, most clearly seen in the Navajo Sandstone. To the north of this ring-shaped syncline lies an additional anticline, also concentric with the structure.
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How Dome forms
The prevailing theory today interprets Upheaval Dome as an eroded impact crater, similar to the younger Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona. In the 1990s, a team of geologists and seismologists from NASA and the University of Nevada, Reno, conducted a detailed investigation using seismic refraction and rock mapping techniques.
When meteorites strike the Earth, they form impact craters like the famous one in Arizona. Geologists estimate that about 60 million years ago, a meteorite roughly one-third of a mile wide struck the site of what is now Upheaval Dome. The collision triggered a massive explosion, hurling dust and debris high into the atmosphere and initially forming an unstable crater that partially collapsed. Over time, as the surrounding area stabilized, underground rocks were pushed upward to fill the void left by the impact. Subsequent erosion has removed any remaining meteorite debris, revealing the inner structure of the crater and exposing rock layers that were once buried thousands of feet below the surface.
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How to Reach Upheaval Dome
Upheaval Dome is located in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park, roughly 32 miles from Moab, Utah. Access it by driving 6.5 miles south of the visitor center, turning onto Upheaval Dome Road, and driving 4.8 miles to the designated trailhead and picnic area.
