Bighorn Basin in Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the red rocks and complex geology of the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains.
According to NASA, the semi-arid climate creates a sparsely vegetated environment where dramatic geologic structures are easily identified from space and from the ground.
The Bighorn Basin is a large intermontane depression that is approximately 100 miles wide. It hosts many rivers such as the Bighorn River, which flows through much of north-central Wyoming and southern Montana.
Due to its unique geology, Bighorn Basin contains rocks that are more than 2.5 billion years old, as well as rocks that are much younger.
This particular photo is centered on the Sheep Mountain anticline, a ridge-shaped fold of stratified rock. The image was captured by an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
