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Here is the central ring as it looks when you get your first good view. All these spires and crags were completely buried when they formed -- the top layers of the initial impact have long since eroded away. One curiousity is the surrounding light blue hills of Bentonite, formed from volcanic ash. It would not be expected to last very long, and probably was a strata higher than the craggy spires you see here (which are very hard). The ash rock is quite soft and crumbly to the touch. It seems quite confusing to see these two very different strata so closely related. Even more interesting, I saw little if any evidence of ash runoff in the streambed that passes for a path. If this looks eerie, unworldly, colorful, spectacular and awesome, that begins to get the idea across. |
