Lizard
7
H You may see lizards just about anywhere in the park. The more common varieties in slickrock areas like this are whiptails (very sleek, streamlined; tail much longer than body), eastern fence lizard (rough; spiny; blue patches on throat and belly), side-blotched lizard (long tail; spiny; blue patch behind front legs).
7
G Potholes, or rock pools, are a common feature of flat sandstone beds. Some reach great size and depth and not all the steps in their development are understood. Once a slight depression is formed by erosion, it holds water for a while after each rain. The moisture dissolves some cement and encourages more rapid erosion, thus deepening the depression. The depression thus holds water longer, and so grows faster. Wind may sweep away the loosened sand grains when the pothole is dry.
7
F Lichens are a “symbiotic” plant association, as you may remember. An alga and fungus grow together, each providing to the other an element necessary to life. Neither can live alone; each is dependent upon the other.
Lichens are rather effective agents of erosion, which seems a bit surprising for a thin crust on the rocks, but it’s true. Like most plants, lichens tend to make the immediate area more acid. The “cement” that holds sand grains together to make sandstone here is very susceptible to acid. The lichens create acid conditions, the acid dissolves the cement, and the sand grains are freed to blow or wash away. And that is what “erosion” is all about.
7
E Juniper [Juniperus osteosperma]. Various species of juniper are common in the arid southwest. As you climb from desert grasslands to higher elevations, the junipers are usually the first trees you see. With pinyon pine, they often form a dense “pigmy forest” of short, burly trees. At slightly higher elevations, where it is a little cooler and moister, ponderosa pine and other trees replace the pinyon-juniper. The tiny scale-like needles on the twigs, and abundant bluish berries make junipers easy to identify.
Juniper
SIDE TRIP: This side trail will take you up to a knoll where you will have a 360 degree view of the Monument. It is the only place on your tour where you can gain such a view.