Red Rock Canyon

I'm staying in the western part of Las Vegas, and only 20 minutes away is a fine natural spot, Red Rock Canyon. There are many picnic grounds here;, a good visitor center; hiking trails of all lengths and difficulties; and very cool rocks. There's a mixture of sandstone, limestone, and others, of varying colors. As always in a diverse rock area, photo ops are unlimited.

This area is unusual in that in some places, newer rock is actually beneath older formations. In the case pictured, this is due to diagonal faulting. The rock on top, older than the rock below, was thrust up above the newer rock when the diagonal fault moved it from left to right.

The trail I hiked yesterday led up a wash that actually still had a little water in places; a strong front went through last week and there was some rain, plus snow in the surrounding mountains. Looking at the vegetation, obviously large volumes of water have flowed through the wash in recent years.