Esplanade Sandstone
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(Hermit elsewhere in Arizona:
(west) – Oak Creek Canyon region, Sedona, AZ (townsite))
| Esplanade Sandstone | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Lower Permian, | |
 south view of Isis Temple, Grand Canyon, from 2-mi, on Tonto Trail, Tonto Platform uppermost vertical red cliff of Esplanade Sandstone (the lower large red vertical cliff is Redwall Limestone upon a lower shelf-cliff of grayish vertical Muav Limestone) | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Underlies | Hermit Formation – (Permian), Grand Canyon; (Hermit elsewhere in Arizona: (west) – Oak Creek Canyon region, Sedona, AZ (townsite)) |
| Overlies | Wescogame Formation, (3rd member) – Supai Group |
| Thickness | 330 feet (100 m) approximate maximum[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | sandstone |
| Location | |
| Region | (southwest) Colorado Plateau Northern Arizona, Grand Canyon, basement rocks of Verde Valley, Arizona, & extreme southwest Utah |
| Extent | Grand Canyon |
The Lower Permian Esplanade Sandstone is a cliff-forming, resistant sandstone, dark red, geologic unit found in the Grand Canyon. The rock unit forms a resistant shelf in the west Grand Canyon, south side of the Colorado River, at the east of the Toroweap Fault, down-dropped to west, southeast of Toroweap Overlook (North Rim, at Lava Falls), and west of Havasupai. The red, sandstone shelf, The Esplanade is about 20-mi long. At Toroweap Overlook region, Toroweap Valley with Vulcan's Throne, Uinkaret volcanic field, the resistant Esplanade Sandstone is described in access routes exploring the Toroweap Lake area (Hike 17, Vulcans Throne).[2]
The Esplanade Route–(trail), of the east Grand Canyon is also named for the Esplanade Sandstone. The coeval sandstone geologic unit from eastern Utah is the Cedar Mesa Sandstone.[3]
In Grand Canyon, Isis Temple landform, north of Grand Canyon Village (South Rim, 5-mi), contains a representative example of the Supai Group 'redbeds', and slope-former and cliff-former units that support the landform. The sequence of units below the white Coconino Sandstone prominence of Isis Temple are:
- G – Coconino Sandstone–white prominence ('white' – ridgeline to right is from North Rim, ~1.5 mi distant)
- F – Hermit Formation – grayish slopes
- E – Supai Group – (massive sloped ‘’red-beds’’)
- 4 – Esplanade Sandstone – cliff-former
- 3 – Wescogame Formation
- 2 – Manakacha Formation
- 1 – Watahomigi Formation
- D – Redwall Limestone – large (vertical) red cliff
- C – Muav Limestone – grayish-cliff (attached at base of Redwall cliffs – 40%)
- B – (light-greenish slope-former) – Bright Angel Shale
- A – upon (dk brown massive cliffs) – Shinumo Quartzite
The Esplanade Sandstone is only found in Arizona, with the Hermosa Group being the equivalent coeval 'redbed' type geologic sequence found north and northeasterly in Utah – (parts of western border Colorado).
