Colorado National Monument comprises 20,453.93 acres, about 32 square miles of sheers walls and deep canyons which expose many of the colorful geologic formations displayed in greater abundance further southwest on the Colorado Plateau.
The canyon bottoms, about 4,700 feet elevation, have ancient Precambrian rocks covered by Triassic-age Chinle, Wingate, Kayenta, Entrada and Summerville formations, then the Morrison Formation bearing dinosaur fossils.Three Cretaceous formations are exposed on top of the mesa , about 7,200 feet elevation. Independence Monument is a free-standing monolith that rises 450 feet from the canyon floor.
The cliffs are made of Entrada/Wingate/Kayenta sandstone layers in various shades of red and white.
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