A Geoscience Digital Image Library
A Geoscience Digital Image Library
| Title | Dike with Shiprock in background, northwestern New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Description | Shiprock is a prominent feature of the Navajo Volcanic Field, located near the Four Corners of southwestern United States. The sharp peak at Shiprock, located in northwestern New Mexico, is a 600 meters high, and 500 meters in diameter, volcanic neck. It is left from an explosive volcanic eruption that occurred about 30 million years ago, forming underground as the upward moving magma stalled and crystallized. Uplift and erosion subsequently exposed it. The rock itself is highly fractured (brecciated) and veined, having a somewhat unusual highly potassic composition called “minette.” The main peak at Shiprock, known as Tse Bitai, or “the winged rock” in Navajo, is accompanied by radiating dikes that also stick up above the surrounding land due to erosion of the surrounding sandstone and shale. This photo was taken from the shadow of the most prominent dike. |
| Geologic province | Navajo Volcanic Field |
| Location | USA ▹ New Mexico ▹ San Juan. Near Shiprock. |
| Photographer | Dexter Perkins. 1999. |
| Collection | E191030993F-19. |
| Key words | Shiprock, Navajo Volcanic Field, minette, dike |
| Tech details | 69 KB. Vista. Canon EOS Rebel, 55mm, Kodak Elite Chrome 100 ASA. |
| GeoDIL number | 1747 |
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